“I’m sure there will be people who have their sources, but from what I’ve seen, it’s like, I had a sheet of paper when I met with the Jets and told them to sign these people. That’s ridiculous. It’s so stupid to think that I would do that!”
That was Aaron Rodgers’ admission that the rumors he gave the Jets a “free agent wish list” as reported by multiple people was untrue – a point that led him to say he told Adam Schefter to lose his number, a statement Schefty later backed up by Tweeting a pic of that very text.
There was, however, conversation about players when he met with the team, as one would expect.
“Did they ask me about certain players I’ve played with over the years? Of course,” Rodgers said. “Did I talk glowingly about teammates that I love? Yeah, why wouldn’t I? Do I love those guys on the list? Of course, but I didn’t make demands. People want these things to be so true – it’s like I was in this meeting dressed in ceremonial regalia, giving them a hand-written on parchment demand list of players I want them to sign.”
The Jets have agreed to sign one of the platers on the alleged list, that being Allen Lazard, and when it comes to him, and Rodgers certainly talked him up.
“I think objectively a lot of people can look at Allen Lazard and say he’s a really good football player, and we would love to have him on our team,” Rodgers said. “And then, anyone with a brain from any team would maybe call me and ask what kind of locker room guy he is or what his work ethic is like, and I’d say he’s a great dude and anybody would be lucky to have him.”
The same would go for former teammates Randall Cobb or Marcedes Lewis, Rodgers said, as well as the other reported name on that list in Odell Beckham Jr., as he incredulously said, “who wouldn’t want Odell on their team?”
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And then, once again, he took issue with the media.
“What are we talking about here? I don’t have demands, my only demand is for transparency,” he said. “If you say some bulls—t, sometimes it’s not even worth it – but when something gets out there, and assumed to be true, it takes on a life of its own. It can go from, ‘oh it was a conversation about 20 different players,’ to ‘oh he wants these few guys or he won’t come.’ It’s a game of telephone and it becomes something like Helvetica is my favorite font or whatever.”
Rodgers certainly wasn’t shy about sending back the hyperbole during his entire interview, although he did continually profess that he will always love the city and the fans in Green Bay, so it’s clear that Rodgers’ heart still has a little green and gold around the black.
He did leave one last nice bread crumb, though, when one of McAfee's staffers if there were any other teams that might have been after him or if it was Packers, Jets, or retirement - and he was very clear without even saying that the person he was referencing wears black and silver now.
"There are a few guys around the league I have a lot of love and affinity for, especially one specific person...I'm not mentioning any names but there's one particular guy with whom I have an unspoken rapport. If there's anybody I would've wanted to put on the demand list, it would be one specific person."
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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