Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers reports to training camp after standoff

GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers' long-running standoff with Aaron Rodgers finally appears to be nearing its conclusion in time for the MVP quarterback to line up behind center for the 2021 season.

Rodgers reported to training camp at Lambeau Field as required Tuesday. Rodgers was seen in the players' parking lot and exiting a COVID-19 testing trailer.

By reporting, Rodgers avoids the $50,000-per-day fines imposed this season on players who hold out. The Packers' first practice is Wednesday, although it is unclear whether Rodgers will participate.

Rodgers' return comes after the quarterback skipped not only voluntary organized team activities but also mandatory minicamp, the first time Rodgers has ever chosen to not participate in the team's offseason program. Coach Matt LaFleur did not say whether the team excused Rodgers' absence from minicamp, though that was an option.

On Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Rodgers had told people close to him that he planned to play for the Packers if all issues could be resolved. The two sides still are working to finalize details of the agreement.

Rodgers' return should delay the start of the Jordan Love era by at least one more season. Love's arrival as a first-round pick the Packers traded up to draft in 2020 set in motion the devolving relationship between Rodgers and the team. In an ESPN "SportsCenter" interview in May, Rodgers said he has no issue with Love, but acknowledged his own play last season altered the team's plans.

"My situation has never been about the draft pick, picking Jordan," Rodgers said when asked directly if he was demanding a trade. "I love Jordan. He's a great kid. A lot of fun to work together. I love the coaching staff, love my teammates, love the fan base in Green Bay. Incredible, incredible 16 years. It's just kind of about a philosophy, and maybe forgetting 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.

"A lot of this was put into motion last year, and the wrench was just kind of thrown into it when I won MVP and played the way I played last year. So this is just kind of a spill out of all that, but it is about the people. That's the most important thing."

Rodgers didn't hide his issue with the Packers, and especially general manager Brian Gutekunst, in the interview. Rodgers indicated the Packers place more priority on their history than the people responsible for winning and losing now.

His message is sure to win support inside the Packers' locker room. Across the league, an us-versus-them mentality pervades between players and management.

Rodgers was chosen with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 draft. The three-time MVP award winner has racked up 51,245 yards and thrown for 412 touchdowns in 190 starts after succeeding Brett Favre as the Packers' starting quarterback. He guided Green Bay to a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 45 after the 2010 season.

The Packers have maintained they wanted Rodgers to return as their quarterback not only in 2021, but beyond. Team president/CEO Mark Murphy, Gutekunst and LaFleur each took separate flights to meet with Rodgers following the season. After those meetings, Gutekunst repeatedly insisted he would not trade the quarterback.

LaFleur said he wanted "nothing more" than for Rodgers to return.

"I can’t even take my brain to that spot right now," LaFleur said when asked after the draft about the possibility Rodgers might not want to be back. "So I just want to do everything in my power to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

Now it seems the crisis has ended. Rodgers is heading to training camp, where he will immediately resume his role as the Packers franchise quarterback.

This article originally appeared on Packers News: Aaron Rodgers reports to Green Bay Packers training camp