Terry Bradshaw says Packers should let "weak" Aaron Rodgers retire.
1. If Aaron Rodgers plays football in 2021, don’t expect to see him doing any sit-down interviews with Fox’s Terry Bradshaw.
The Hall of Fame quarterback unloaded on the future Hall of Fame quarterback during an interview during WFAN’s Moose & Maggie show Monday.
“With him being that upset shows me how weak he is,” Bradshaw said. “Who the hell cares who you draft? I mean, he’s a three-time MVP in the league and he’s worried about this guy they drafted last year at No. 1?”
Bradshaw added, “And for him to be upset, my God, I don’t understand that. Pittsburgh drafted Mark Malone No. 1, Cliff Stoudt in the third or fourth round. I had them coming at me from all angles. I embraced it, because when we went to practice, I wasn’t worried about those guys. You know? They didn’t scare me a bit. So I don’t understand why he’s so upset at Green Bay.
“And then if they fire the general manager he’ll come back? Are you kidding me? Really? Aaron, that’s where this is?”
In fairness to Rodgers, he hasn’t said publicly he’ll only play for the Packers in 2021 if the organization fires general manager Brian Gutekunst.
If that is the case, as has been reported, though, Bradshaw thinks Green Bay should call Rodgers’s bluff.
“Here’s what I’d do,” Bradshaw said. “I wouldn’t budge. Let him gripe. Let him cry. Retire. You’re 38. Go ahead and retire. See you later. I mean, I’m really strong about stuff like that, and it just makes him look weak. In my way of looking at it, it makes him look weak. How dare you draft somebody? I play better than they thought I would. Me being the MVP really screwed them, really messed them up.
"Well, obviously he doesn’t need the money, so he probably should just retire and go do Jeopardy! I wouldn’t budge.”
Bradshaw added, “He’s really put them in a pickle. Green Bay is really in a pickle. If he retires, then that takes care of that. They can’t trade him. If they trade him, they’re gonna lose too much money.”
It’s not often you see a top NFL network television personality unload like this on a star player, but Bradshaw has always been outspoken and now he’s in the “I don’t give a crap” stage of his career. That makes for fun times.
2. This is how you do it. NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano called out the stupidity of NFL draft grades and actually cited his own network in his explanation for not doing them on his show. That's how you build credibility.
3. Talk about not reading the room. After Tom Wilson did this ...
... the Capitals' social media person thought this would be a good tweet. Good grief.
4. Amazon was supposed to start airing Thursday Night Football exclusively in 2023. That has now gotten pushed up to 2022. This will be Fox's last season carrying TNF. Amazon had no problem finding the money to get the rights a year sooner.
5. As far as hype videos of athletes returning from injury go, this one, from Stars forward Tyler Seguin, is extremely well done. Seguin made his season debut Monday night after undergoing hip surgery in the offseason and scored a goal in Dallas's 5–4 loss.
6. The latest episode of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast features two interviews.
First up is reporter John Ourand from Sports Business Journal. Ourand breaks down the NHL's blockbuster TV deals with ESPN and Turner Sports, weighs in on whether this is a good or bad time to be a sports fan when it comes to consumption of games, linear TV's reliance on live sports and the problem with streaming services. Other topics discussed with Ourand include Dan Le Batard's startup, Meadowlark, partnering with DraftKings, the rise of gambling content on game telecasts and more.
Following Ourand, former NFL defensive back Aqib Talib, who called two games for Fox last season, joins the podcast. Talib talks about his experience in the booth and the reaction he received from viewers. Talib also discusses covering the NFL draft for Bleacher Report, why he thinks mock drafts are bulls---, what he learned about Tom Brady and Bill Belichick while playing for the Patriots and why he thinks Peyton Manning should be the top-paid broadcaster in the NFL.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: A&E is now 3-for-3 in giving us outstanding wrestler documentaries on Sunday nights. I watched the latest installment on Randy "Macho Man" Savage on Monday night and enjoyed it a lot. So let's remember one of the best angle-heel turns from the 1980s.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.