Case closed.
One day after Aaron Rodgers expressed that he didn’t know who gifted him a bust of Nicolas Cage, the Packers quarterback revealed Wednesday to The Athletic that his former teammate, AJ Hawk, was behind the unique present.
Hawk, who currently co-hosts “The Pat McAfee Show,” played at linebacker in Green Bay from 2006-14 and remains close friends with Rodgers.
Aaron Rodgers revealed this week that he was gifted a Nicolas Cage bust after arriving at training camp dressed as the actor’s character, Cameron Poe, from “Con Air.” Twitter/Matt Schneidman
The Athletic reported Wednesday that Aaron Rodgers’ former teammate, AJ Hawk, purchased the gift. APLast month, Rodgers arrived to practice dressed as Cage’s character, Cameron Poe, from the 1997 drama, “Con Air,” when he sported a white tank top, light-wash jeans and black boots.
“What do you think I’m gonna do? I’m gonna save the f–kin’ day!” Rodgers, 38, wrote on Instagram in July, along with the “Cameron Poe” hashtag.
Though Packers training camp has featured light-hearted moments such as this, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the young receiving corps this week, when the league’s two-time reigning MVP criticized their play publicly.
Nicolas Cage in “Con Air.” Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy
Aaron Rodgers at Packers training camp on August 5, 2022. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images“It’s unfortunately some of the same guys,” Rodgers said Tuesday. “Repeat mistakes [are] a problem, so we’ve just got to clean those things up a little bit. The young guys, especially young receivers, we’ve got to be way more consistent. A lot of drops, a lot of bad route decisions, running the wrong route. We’ve got to get better in that area. But I felt like the line for the most part held up pretty good, which was good to see.”
Rodgers and his fellow signal-callers met with the receivers on Wednesday morning, with rookie Samori Toure telling the media that the crux of the gathering “was just really giving us advice.”
“Basically, letting us know that the Green Bay receiving corps has always been held to a super-high standard. All the legends who have been through here. It’s just about us carrying on that standard and stepping up,” he said.
Rodgers is entering his 18th NFL season without one of his most beloved targets, wide receiver Davante Adams, who was traded to the Raiders in March and signed a five-year contract worth $141.25 million.
The Packers will open the season on the road against the Vikings on Sunday, Sept. 11.
