New York Jets quarterback hopeful Aaron Rodgers briskly texted NFL insider Adam Schefter to ‘lose my number.’ Now, why is that?
Rodgers joined The Pat McAfee Show Wednesday afternoon to offer some clarity on his NFL future. But during the hour-long conversation, Rodgers took a minute to criticize the media, specifically ESPN NFL insiders Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini. According to Rodgers, he responded to their inquiries for information with “lose my number,” something Schefter admitted to.
After Schefter tweeted a screenshot of Rodgers’ text, the 39-year-old quarterback said, “I can do that, if he wants to put my text out there, I can put his text out there. He doesn’t want that, does he.”
Apparently, Schefter did want that, because Wednesday afternoon, he offered more insight into his brief text exchange with Rodgers during ESPN’s NFL free agency edition of SportsCenter.
Adam Schefter offers insight on his attempt to contact Aaron Rodgers pic.twitter.com/byK0iIbpzU
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 15, 2023
“Trey Wingo said ‘done deal.’ Everybody wants to know, is it a done deal?” Schefter said of his reasoning for texting Rodgers earlier this week. “So, we called the Packers, Jets, everybody says, ‘you have to ask somebody else.’ And that’s what I texted him. ‘Hey, everybody says to ask somebody else, so I’m asking you. Have you told the Jets that you’re planning to play for them?’ That was my text to him. And then when he didn’t respond, I said, ‘OK, I’m going to call him.’ So I called him, he sent it right to voicemail. That’s when I got the text back.”
Seems straightforward and devoid of potential “fake news.” Although Rodgers will almost certainly find something to complain about regarding Schefter’s above comments. Imagine Rodgers’ vitriol if NFL insiders went through the entire offseason issuing reports about him without checking in for comment? Rodgers’ constant attempts at portraying himself in a battle with the media can be exhausting, especially as those battles are usually one-sided.
Occasional journalistic negligence aside, Schefter is typically someone to be trusted and relied on in terms of accurately reporting NFL news. Schefter is also a reporter widely deemed to have strong sources weaved throughout the NFL. But as Rodgers attempts to squash that narrative, there is something pleasing about well-sourced NFL insiders having to watch Rodgers on YouTube like the rest of us for information.
