NFL insiders keep reporting about Aaron Rodgers, and Aaron Rodgers keeps saying NFL insiders don’t have any insider insight on him.
As rumors and reports about Rodgers’ NFL future continue to spiral, the 39-year-old broke his silence Wednesday afternoon, joining The Pat McAfee Show, presumably to report on his own NFL future.
According to Rodgers, he wants to play for the New York Jets, but the Green Bay Packers are still quibbling about compensation, which supports what Trey Wingo and Boomer Esiason have said. But one report Rodgers wouldn’t give credence to was the idea that he handed the Jets a wish list of players to acquire. Rodgers took that report from ESPN’s Dianna Russini as an opportunity to rail against the media, specifically NFL insiders attempts at gaining information about him.
“Ask Schefter what I texted him when he somehow got my number.. LOSE MY NUMBER” 😂😂 ~ @AaronRodgers12#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/8cCmCfaE9i
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 15, 2023
“Ask Schefter what I texted him when he somehow got my number and texted me,” Rodgers told McAfee. “I didn’t respond to Dianna Russini, I think her name is? She got my number as well. But like, I would say the same thing that I told Schefty. Lose my number, nice try. I’ll speak for myself. I’m sure there will be people that have their sources, but from what I’ve seen, I had a sheet of paper when I met with the Jets and I said, ‘sign these people.’ That’s not the reality. That’s ridiculous.”
Almost exactly one month ago, Rodgers went on The Pat McAfee Show and definitively stated NFL insiders “don’t know sh*t,” calling out Schefter and Ian Rapoport. After he railed against NFL insiders again on The Pat McAfee Show, Schefter confirmed Rodgers’ report and shared a screenshot of the quarterback texting him to “lose my number.”
Confirming Aaron Rodgers’ report: pic.twitter.com/XRhhd58Qm5
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2023
Russini, meanwhile, went on ESPN and defended her reporting about Rodgers’ wish list.
“These were not demands from Aaron Rodgers and we never reported it that way and we never even presented it that way,” Russini said. “It was ‘these are the players I want to join me in New York, here are guys I like.’ Randall Cobb is not a player the New York Jets had on their free agency board as a player they wanted to bring in. That’s a player that Aaron Rodgers likes and wants.”
Diana Russini reacts to Aaron Rodgers calling her out said he has a longer wish list of players but they’re not “demands” pic.twitter.com/3N0HrdA9ih
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) March 15, 2023
Russini added that this is a normal occurrence when a team is courting a star quarterback. Which is why Russini’s report about Rodgers’ wish list seems completely feasible. Just because Rodgers doesn’t appear to be a source for Russini, doesn’t mean she’s not talking to people inside the Jets organization.
Rodgers can’t have it both ways. He can’t cry that reporters are spewing “fake news” about him and then tell those same reporters to “lose my number” when they do their due diligence by checking in with him before going public with a report.
