“He Knows Nothing About Me”: Aaron Rodgers’ Ex-Packers Teammate Slams Steelers QB Over Controversial Statement

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has reopened an old chapter with one of his former Green Bay Packers teammates, and Jermichael Finley now has his response. The former Packers tight end addressed Rodgers’ recent comments about their relationship after years of distance between the two.

Finley, who played for the Packers from 2008 through 2013, has now responded to that remark in an interview with Tyler Dunne of Go Long.

“I wish him nothing but the best,” Finley said during the interview. “But at the end of the day, he knows nothing about me. I haven’t heard his voice. He hasn’t heard my voice. He hasn’t seen my face. I haven’t seen his face. But I’m a phone call away, and he can always hit my line and really see what I’m up to and really see the intelligence and the smarts I got because obviously what he said was dumb.”

Rodgers was referring to two former Packers teammates: Greg Jennings, the former Green Bay wide receiver and current FS1 analyst, and Finley. While discussing players who had criticized him, Rodgers said one had become “bitter” after leaving Green Bay, a description that pointed to Jennings.

He then turned to Finley, saying, “The other just wasn’t a smart person.” Rodgers added, “And that one hurt me more, because I spent so much time with him. The night before games, I’d be in his room for an hour going over the plan, the checks, everything I was going to do.”

There is also a reason Rodgers’ comments landed differently for Finley. During their Packers years, the two spent considerable time together before games. Finley recalled meeting Rodgers in each other’s rooms for roughly two years, going over the offense before eventually talking about family and life outside football.

The tension between the two goes back years. The former tight end said in 2012 that he and Rodgers had no chemistry that year, and needed the quarterback to “be on my side.”

Finley was publicly critical of Rodgers’ leadership, according to Bleacher Report. He said Rodgers was not a natural-born leader and was too focused on his own game and statistics. The tension between the two had developed so much that Rodgers believed he and Jennings were always behind anything negative that came out about him.

“It’s always the same two people,” the quarterback said in 2019.

Finley also criticized Rodgers’ work ethic in 2021 after Rodgers’ poor Week 1 performance against the New Orleans Saints. Finley said he did not see the same hunger or work ethic from Rodgers that he had seen in previous seasons.

Despite everything that has been said over the years, Finley said he has not actually spoken with Rodgers since his playing career ended. He suffered a career-ending neck injury against the Cleveland Browns in October 2013, and told Dunne that his last contact with Rodgers came while he was in the hospital.

That distance helps explain why Finley seemed more surprised than angry by Rodgers’ latest comments. For now, he is focused on his family and life after football, while Rodgers continues his final NFL season with the Steelers. Their relationship, however, remains firmly in the past.

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