Aaron Rodgers sounds off on Packers effort at practice

With preseason games starting this week, NFL teams are ramping up their practices. Packers star QB Aaron Rodgers wasn’t a fan of the team’s effort today.

Football is back! Well, it’s kind of back. With the Hall of Fame Game complete, Hard Knocks starting tonight and Week 1 of the preseason starting this week, it very much feels like football season is finally upon us.

With most teams preparing for their first game of the preseason, practice is ramping up to more game-like situations. That’s exactly what was happening at Packers camp when Aaron Rodgers called out the effort of some of his teammates.

His frustrations were mainly at the wide receivers who weren’t up to par in the drill. They were doing a walkthrough situation where the wideouts would have to read a play off a card and run the route.

Rodgers called the effort “piss poor” and “one of the worst” practices that he’s seen in his 13-year career.

Rodgers spared three of his receivers: DeAngelo Yancey, a former fifth-round pick, Geronimo Allison, who played a very limited role in 2016 and 2017 with the Packers, and NFL journeyman Jake Kumerow. The rest of the receiving corps wasn’t up to par.

The Packers receiving group is going to look a little different without Rodgers’ former favorite target, Jordy Nelson. Nelson is in Oakland after his production significantly dropped in 2017. Now, Devante Adams and Randall Cobb will be Rodgers’ main targets.

The rest of the receivers are pretty unproven, so it’s understandable why Rodgers was so mad with the lack of effort. This is the time to set yourself apart from the competition and earn a role with the team.

Green Bay has mostly underachieved in the Rodgers era, with only one Super Bowl, and it’s safe to assume that Rodgers wants another one before he hangs it up.

The Packers window of opportunity is certainly beginning to close after each year as Rodgers creeps closer to 35 years old, where players (usually) begin to slow down production wise.

If you’re arguably the best quarterback in the league and one of the more gifted QBs in the history of the sport, you can get away with sounding off on your teammates. If you haven’t earned it yet, you can’t do it without looking like a jackwagon. It’s as simple as that. Rodgers earns the benefit of the doubt here.