‘Not going to go home and cry:’ Teammates say they expect Aaron Rodgers to return, but will move on if he doesn’t

GREEN BAY — Aaron Rodgers has finally broken his silence on his rift with the Green Bay Packers’ front office, and now teammates are reacting to the reigning NFL MVP not being at organized team activities this week.

“(I) love the coaching staff, love my teammates, love the fan base in Green Bay,” Rodgers said during an interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter Monday night. “It’s just kind of about a philosophy, and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make the thing go. It’s about character, it’s about culture, it’s about doing things the right way.”

This week’s organized team activities are voluntary, so Rodgers was not obligated to attend. He’s reportedly in Hawaii with his fiancee, actress Shailene Woodley, instead. But teammates said on Tuesday they expect Rodgers to eventually rejoin the team.

“I haven’t heard him say anything other than that, so I expect him to be (back), but like I said, I’m not going to go home and cry if something else happens,” safety Adrian Amos said Tuesday. “I’m just playing it day by day. But of course you want one of the greatest, if not the greatest, ever on your team — you want him to be there.”

Other teammates like running back Aaron Jones, who signed a free agent contract to return to the team in the offseason, say they’re only focusing on what they can control, and aren’t letting the disagreements between Rodgers and the front office become a distraction.

“I don’t think it’s a distraction at all,” Jones said. “I’m one person and I worry about myself and how I can get better during this time of OTAs and help my team get better, you know? I’m not worried about what other people are doing right now or what’s going on.”

Rodgers is not the only big name not in attendance for the voluntary workouts this week. Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Jaire Alexander and David Bakhtiari are also not at Lambeau Field this week.

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