"I've done that a few times": When Aaron Rodgers faked helmet issues to override head coach decisions
NFL legend Aaron Rodgers is known to have some fun in his life, on and off the field. While his off-field antics, like ayahuasca treatment, make the headlines, sometimes he doesn’t hesitate to bring a part of his mischievous mannerism to the field as well.
Back in 2020, during a podcast with former NFL player and famous podcaster Pat McAfee, the four-time MVP admitted to his guilty pleasure activity.
A snippet of the podcast was uploaded on social media platforms like YouTube and X, where Rodgers was interviewed by McAfee and former teammate AJ Hawk. When Hawk asked if Rodgers has ever purposefully ignored the signal waves from the sidelines using the helmet trick, the 41-year-old replied,
“I've done that a few times, and every now and then it's real.”
Rodgers uses the helmet trick on his coach
The group couldn’t stop laughing at the honest admission made by the NFL star, who was still playing for the Packers then under coach Matt LaFleur. He further continued to narrate the process.
“Last year the helmet went out three times probably, and he couldn’t believe it. The second time it went out, he thought I was messing with him. And I faked one between the second and third time, and I did the ‘Is it working?’ and he was like, ‘Oh my god.’ You see him freaking out on the sidelines, and I was laughing and I was pointing at him. But it went out again," Rodgers said.
The QBs use a communication device installed within their helmet to communicate with the coaching staff on the sidelines. It helps the team execute the strategy better. However, Rodgers also admitted that only a few instances were on purpose, and there were occasions when it actually happened.
Rodgers draws a comparison between LaFleur and Mike McCarthy
He further elaborated how the number was surprisingly lower when Mike McCarthy was at the helm:
“I thought I had the backup like four times in two years, which I mean in the 13 years. In the 11 years Mike and I were together, it could be two or three times it went out, and we’re talking about three times, four times in two years with LaFleur.”
Rodgers, regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks, probably gets a pass for such a thing. While the Packers finished just shy of a Super Bowl place in 2019, Rodgers finished as the NFL MVP for two successive seasons in 2020 and 2021.