On Wednesday, all hell broke loose after it was reported that Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 and would miss Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. But things didn’t really heat up until it was reported that Rodgers is unvaccinated and won’t be eligible to return until Nov. 13.
What was the big kerfuffle? Well, when Rodgers was asked if he was vaccinated back in August, he said that he was “immunized.” So, what was the point of beating around the bush with all of that?
On Aug. 26, Rodgers said he was “immunized,” which doesn’t necessarily mean vaccinated.
Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin and The Athletic followed up by asking him if he had made the decision to set an example and ensure that he would be available. At the time, Wilde was under the assumption that Rodgers was vaccinated. Rodgers veered right on that idea.
“No, it wasn’t about that at all. I think, I like to learn about everything that I am doing and there was a lot of research that even went into that. But, guys have been, like I said there has been people that have tested positive. I think it is only vaccinated people here, so it is going to be interesting to see how things work moving forward. Obviously, there could be some issues with vaccinated people only testing every couple weeks and non-vaccinated testing every day. Last year I felt like, I think I read something about this, it was more difficult to pull a guy out who might have tested positive on gameday. I don’t think that will be the issue with somebody who is not vaccinated, but it is interesting to see how things are played out. There has been a lot of conversation around it and just with talking to JC, I think this is going to continue to evolve as we go into the season.”
Why would Rodgers suggest he was vaccinated? One logical explanation is that Rodgers didn’t want to face the backlash that Kirk Cousins and Cole Beasley had. They became notorious for remaining unvaccinated and cemented their statuses throughout the offseason, which drew criticism. Did Rodgers try to walk the tightrope of suggesting that he was good to go when he wasn’t? He is very calculated. Would he run that risk? That’s for him to either clarify in the coming days. However, this wasn’t a secret Rodgers kept to himself.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, there are some in the Packers’ organization who knew for sure that the reigning MVP wasn’t vaccinated.
This isn’t some elaborate plan by the Packers. They weren’t trying to scheme against the rest of the NFL. The organization knew. So did some teammates, according to Rapoport. The NFL did as well. It just makes it more bizarre that he would lie in the offseason or mislead others outside of the franchise into thinking he was vaccinated when he wasn’t.
The only other logical explanation is if Rodgers honestly thought by saying “immunized,” that reporters would understand that it doesn’t mean vaccinated. On Wednesday, Rapoport reported that Rodgers opted against the vaccine but received some sort of treatment from his doctor to help with COVID.
It seems far-fetched that Rodgers thought reporters would catch on to what he was articulating. Again, he will have to answer for it the next time he speaks with the media.
Rodgers’ decision to be unvaccinated is a discussion that will play out on Twitter. It will be debated endlessly but won’t yield any substantive results. It will just be keyboard warriors squaring off against one another. What can be objectively agreed upon is that Rodgers’ decision to lie or purposely mislead reporters is odd. While he won’t owe any of them an apology, it doesn’t exactly give off good vibes.
Not wanting to face backlash for opting against the vaccine is one thing. Rolling the dice and getting a pool of reporters to believe you are vaccinated is somewhat cowardly.
As a result of this circus act on Wednesday, second-year quarterback Jordan Love will now be under center for the Packers in Week 9 when they head to Arrowhead to take on the Kansas City Chiefs. It might not be the only game he starts as Rodgers won’t be cleared to return until at least Nov. 13, a day before a matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. Hopefully, by then, Green Bay can refocus on a push towards the Lombardi Trophy.
