Aaron Rodgers’ impending decision about whether he’ll return for an 18th NFL season has two of sports media’s loudest personalities at odds.
On Wednesday, Pat McAfee took time on his radio show to explain that he disagreed with comments made by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith about the NFL’s reigning MVP.
Rodgers made an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Tuesday, as reports about his playing future continue to swirl. Fans had believed the quarterback was going to reveal his forthcoming plans on the show but explained the results of his 12-day Panchakarma cleanse instead.
Earlier this week, Smith went off about Rodgers on “First Take,” saying he doesn’t care to hear about the Packers quarterback until he announces a decision about the upcoming NFL season.
“There were people mad like Stephen A. Smith,” McAfee said on his show. “By the way, got nothing but love for him. Stephen A has been bringing it for a long time. His take on it was like, ‘I don’t want to hear from [Rodgers] unless he makes a decision [about his future].’
“I love that take, because it’s like, ‘I don’t want to hear from LeBron [James] and [Michael] Jordan again until they actually play.”
McAfee went on to admit that, like many fans, he too believed Rodgers would discuss his next move.
“I think everybody was mad that their expectation was he was going to say exactly what he was doing,” McAfee said. “But I think he gave a lot of information in that 42 minutes. I think a lot was said yesterday, and everybody was like, ‘Nothing was said.’ I disagree.”
On Tuesday, Smith said he could care less about what Rodgers has to say and reminded Packers fans of a “glaring” dent to the quarterback’s legacy.
“I think it’s incredibly important that I say this: I do not care, not even a little bit… He’s a bad man. We know all the things I have said but the last time I saw him, he came up conspicuously short, in an NFC divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers team led by Jimmy Garoppolo. I don’t care about inclement weather. It was on your own turf, with all of your weapons, and all of the pieces that you had in place. And you came up short for the 11th consecutive season,” Smith said.
He later continued, “And it doesn’t take anything away from his greatness as a talent. Because I think that as a talent, particularly when you take into consideration longevity, there has not been a more talented quarterback in the history of football than Aaron Rogers. But that also means that it’s incredibly glaring that you only have one Super Bowl to show for it. And not even a single Super Bowl appearance in the last 11 years.”
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