Aaron Rodgers Week 1 NFL odds: Packers quarterback not at Green Bay's mandatory minicamp as expected
Green Bay's mandatory minicamp began Tuesday and Aaron Rodgers was a no-show.
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To most people, a fine of $93,000 for anything would be absolutely crippling. However, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has earned a quarter of a billion dollars or so in his NFL career, so that's a pittance for him. As expected, the unhappy Rodgers was a no-show for the first day of the Packers' mandatory minicamp Tuesday and the team can fine Rodgers $93,085 if he misses all three days – and he will miss them. SportsLine oddsmakers still favor Rodgers to be under center Week 1 in New Orleans; the Packers are currently +2.5 on the NFL odds.
If the Packers wanted to placate Rodgers a bit, they could opt to not fine him for this week's absence and call it excused. He already has missed out on a $500,000 workout bonus when he skipped organized team activities. Frankly, missing three days of summer practice means little in the grand scheme of things as long as Rodgers' camp and the team are making progress on a new contract. Then again, Rodgers has never missed mandatory minicamp previously.
All eyes, then, this week will be on second-year quarterback Jordan Love – who presumably would be the Week 1 starter if Rodgers' holdout lasts that long or in the unlikely event he's actually traded. Love was expected to have all his receivers available this week – all the top guys, including superstar Davante Adams, skipped OTAs.
It will be Love's first chance to guide the first-team offense for a lengthy stretch. He was the Packers' third-string QB in 2020 and was inactive for the entire season, which is pretty unusual for a first-round pick. Of course, there was no preseason last year, either, due to COVID.
The next date to circle for the Rodgers saga is July 27, which kicks off training camp for the Packers. If he doesn't show then, things will get very interesting.
A-Rod remains a +700 second-favorite at William Hill to repeat as NFL MVP, behind Patrick Mahomes (+550). While the site continues to list Green Bay as a -135 favorite in the NFC North, it is keeping Packers win totals and odds to make/miss the playoffs off the board because of Rodgers.
NBC Sports' Peter King wrote this week that: "I would bet Rodgers, today, is solid on never playing for the Packers again." King threw out a scenario where the Packers and Rodgers could agree on a trade but not until after the 2021 season as a win-win for both sides. That seems quite unlikely.
Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Will Aaron Rodgers be the Packers' starting QB Week 1 of this season?
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