Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The NFL has considered Rodgers as unvaccinated since the start of the season, sources confirmed to ESPN and as first reported by NFL Network.
Under league protocol, if Rodgers tests positive and is unvaccinated, he must quarantine for a minimum of 10 days and cannot return until Nov. 13 at the earliest, if he remains asymptomatic.
Rodgers, 37, petitioned the NFL to have an alternate treatment that he underwent before he returned to the Packers that would allow him to be considered the same as someone who received one of the approved vaccinations, sources told ESPN. After a lengthy back-and-forth, the league ruled that Rodgers would not get the same consideration and would be considered unvaccinated.
Sources said Rodgers follows masking protocols while interacting with players and coaches inside the team’s headquarters at Lambeau Field. However, Rodgers does not wear a mask while in the media auditorium during his weekly and postgame news conferences. The Packers have put other unvaccinated players on Zoom instead of at in-person media sessions.
The reigning NFL MVP said this past August that he was “immunized” when asked about his vaccination status.
“You know, there’s a lot of conversation around it, around the league, and a lot of guys who have made statements and not made statements, owners who have made statements,” Rodgers said at the time. “There’s guys on the team that haven’t been vaccinated. I think it’s a personal decision. I’m not going to judge those guys. There are guys that’ve been vaccinated that have contracted COVID. It’s an interesting issue that I think we’re going to see played out the entire season.”
He later added: “I think I like to learn about everything that I’m doing, and there was a lot of research that even went into that. But like I said, there’s been people that have tested positive, and I think it’s only vaccinated people here. It’s going to be interesting to see how things work moving forward. Obviously there could be some issues with vaccinated people only testing every couple weeks and then non-vaccinated testing every day.”
Jordan Love is in line to make his first career start against Kansas City in Rodgers’ absence. The Packers (7-1) are riding a seven-game winning streak and are tied with the Rams and Cardinals for the best record in the NFC.
Rodgers is the Packers’ second star player to test positive in the past week. Receiver Davante Adams was out last week because of a positive test and missed last Thursday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Receiver Allen Lazard also missed last week’s game after being deemed a close contact of Adams.
Packers practice squad quarterback Kurt Benkert on Tuesday tweeted that he had COVID-19 and was later placed on the reserve list.
The Packers were still without defensive coordinator Joe Barry on Monday because of COVID-19 protocols.
Coach Matt LaFleur said Monday that he hoped Adams would be able to return by Thursday.
The line for Sunday’s game has moved drastically at Caesars Sportsbook. The Chiefs had opened as 2 ½-point favorites, which had dropped to pick ’em as of Wednesday morning. However, after the news of Rodgers’ positive test, the Chiefs are now 8-point favorites with a total of 48 points scored, down from what had been 55 points as of Sunday.
