MMQB: Aaron Rodgers Declined NFL's Offer to Speak with Infectious Disease Consultant

Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers reportedly chose not to speak to the NFL's top doctors before electing not to get vaccinated ahead of the 2021 season, according to Albert Breer of MMQB:

"The NFL strongly denied that Rodgers talked to any of its doctors, as he asserted on The Pat McAfee Show. In fact, I’m told the league offered him the opportunity to talk to the NFL/NFLPA joint infectious disease consultant and/or the league’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, and he didn’t take the NFL up on the offer. That was after the league found, in the words of one source, that Rodgers’s “homeopathic therapy doesn’t provide any protection that’s supported by science at all."

ESPN's Rob Demovsky reported Rodgers underwent a treatment in the offseason and petitioned the NFL to count that as being vaccinated, but an infectious disease consultant approved by both parties ruled him to be unvaccinated.

The quarterback tested positive for COVID-19 last week and was unavailable for Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Rodgers explained his decision-making process regarding the vaccine Friday on the Pat McAfee Show:

"I put a lot of time and energy into research and met with a lot of different people in the medical field to get the most information about the vaccines before making the decision," Rodgers said.

Despite his own research, he apparently did not take advantage of the resources provided by the NFL.

Several teams brought in experts ahead of the season to help provide accurate information to players.

Dr. Michael Osterholm spoke to the Minnesota Vikings and said he spent his time "addressing this disinformation that's out there," via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The Washington Football Team also brought in an expert to help a team that had one of the lowest vaccination rates in the league early in training camp.