One of the biggest takeaways from Marquez Valdes-Scantling‘s recent interview on “The Herd” was the fact that Aaron Rodgers is back on U.S. soil after the veteran quarterback was allegedly in the Middle East when he skipped the Jets‘ voluntary minicamp. But there was another interesting nugget from the interview that has been somewhat overlooked.
During the interview, Valdes-Scantling, who signed with the Buffalo Bills this offseason, said that he worked out with his former Packers teammate earlier this week.
“Me and Aaron have been great friends since Green Bay,” Valdes-Scantling said. “I hit him up and told him I was coming out to L.A. He said, ‘Let’s run some routes.’ So we got it in. We out to some high school, ran some routes together. It was good.”
This is interesting on several fronts. First, it’s interesting that Rodgers — instead of catching up over coffee or a nice meal — would instead suggest getting some work in upon learning of Valdes-Scantling’s trip to Los Angeles. It’s possible that the two also enjoyed some leisurely time together, but only after routes were run and passes were caught.
The workout also shows the tight bond that exists between Rodgers and Valdes-Scantling, who spent four years together in Green Bay before Valdes-Scantling signed with the Chiefs during the 2022 offseason. Valdes-Scantling alluded to his relationship with and admiration for Rodgers when I asked him last fall about Rodgers possibly returning to play last year despite rupturing his Achilles in Week 1.
“No, I’m not surprised at all,” he said at the time. “When you know Aaron, that’s just who he is. He is a competitor, especially if he gets into a situation where he can prove someone wrong, he will live and die by it. He’s gotten so much slack for leaving Green Bay … people saying he wasn’t going to do well and whatever.
“Him going down the way that he did the first game of the season was heartbreaking. But I know that it just gave him way more motivation, and that’s why you see him doing so much right now and even potentially coming back this year or early next year.”
You can’t also not mention that Rodgers and Valdes-Scantling are now members of division rivals, which makes their recent workout all the more interesting. Russell Wilson recently threw passes with former teammate DK Metcalf, but the Steelers and Seahawks aren’t scheduled to play each other anytime soon. This would be like if Joe Montana threw passes to Jerry Rice ahead of the 49ers-Chiefs showdown early in the 1994 season.
But this is a different time, when players focus less on team rivalries and more on the bonds that they’ve created with other players, whether it’s former or current teammates. For Rodgers and Valdes-Scantling, their recent throwing session was a chance to catch up while also sharping their skills for their upcoming seasons, which will ultimately cross paths on at least two occasions.
