Jordy Nelson still has Aaron Rodgers’ back.
Amid an offseason of mudslinging at the Packers quarterback, who was recently dubbed “arrogant” by a former teammate, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, Rodgers’ longtime friend and former on-field target fired back at critics over their “comical” comments.
“I think if you look, there’s two guys — now three [with Gbaja-Biamila] — saying it, compared to the hundreds that are saying the opposite. It doesn’t make sense,” Nelson said on ESPN Radio’s “Wilde and Tausch,” according to CBS Sports.
Former Packers tight end Jermichael Finley, who won Super Bowl XLV with Rodgers, said the signal-caller and the front office should shoulder the blame for last season’s woes, which included the ouster of longtime coach Mike McCarthy.
“I have to blame AR [Rodgers] for taking $200 million. You have to spread the wealth if you want results out of your receivers,” Finley said in an interview with FanSided. “I see Tom Brady is here all the time. He spreads the wealth. His defense holds the scoreboard down, and he has the little pieces to get him here.”
He also said Rodgers is “coachable to a point.”
“Once you try to overcoach him, that’s when he’s going to do his own thing,” Finley said in January.
Rodgers, who will now be coached by offensive guru Matt LaFleur, also was chastised back in October by former receiver Greg Jennings following a loss to the Lions.
“What stood out was his body language, his demeanor, his lack of involvement with the guys during the game. He had a look on him like he was disgusted, but it was kind of like the, ‘Here We Go Again,'” Jennings said on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” via 247Sports.
Nelson, who signed with the Raiders after being released by the Packers last March after 10 seasons, says the negativity is a way to stir up chatter.
“Everyone knows negativity sells,” the wide receiver said. “People don’t want to hear [the good]. People feel better about themselves when they hear bad things about other people.”
Though Rodgers “demands a lot,” Nelson believes the quarterback is a “great leader.”
“He’s hard on people, he demands a lot, but he demands a lot from himself. And I think any great quarterback out there does the same thing,” he said.
