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Biography[]
Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983 in Chico, California, USA) is an American football quarterback. He was drafted in the first round (24th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers and is earmarked to be Brett Favre's eventual successor.
Early years[]
Rodgers is from Chico in Butte County. He attended Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, California, and garnered 4,419 passing yards and started for two years at quarterback. He set single-game records of 6 touchdowns and 440 all-purpose yards and Rogers also set a single season record by having 2,466 total yards.
Rodgers garnered little interest from Division I programs out of Pleasant Valley with only one offer, as a walk-on, from the University of Illinois. Rodgers declined the invitation to attend Butte College for an opportunity to transfer to a Division I university after his sophomore year. Rodgers was discovered by University of California football head coach Jeff Tedford in 2003 as a freshman, while recruiting Rodgers' teammate, tight end, Garrett Cross.
College career[]
As a junior college transfer with three years of eligibility, Rodgers was named the starting quarterback for California in the fifth game of the 2003 season, ironically, against the only team that offered him a division I opportunity out of high school, Illinois. He helped lead the Golden Bears to an 8-6 record, including an upset win over then-No. 3 ranked University of Southern California and an Insight Bowl victory against the Virginia Tech Hokies.
As a junior, Rodgers led California to the No. 4 ranking in the country, earning a spot in the Holiday Bowl. After the season, Rodgers entered the 2005 NFL Draft and was expected to be picked in the top ten and was thought of as the potential number one pick overall. His slip to the 24th choice became one of the biggest stories of the 2005 draft, but still he was the second quarterback taken in the draft. Rodgers posted impressive numbers as a junior with Cal throwing for 2,320 yards with a 67.5 completion rating. He tied an NCAA record when he completed 23 consecutive passes against the eventual national champions, USC. He threw for 23 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions in his last college season, impressing many NFL scouts. Many believe his slip to #24 was due to the fact that he is considered short for a quarterback at 6'2" tall, as well as the so-far unsuccessful NFL careers of most of his college coach Jeff Tedford's previous quarterbacks. Alternatively, Rodgers' relatively low draft position may have been due to many of the teams drafting between the second and 23rd positions having greater positional needs than quarterback. Rodgers is one of six quarterbacks coached by Tedford to be drafted in the first round, including Akili Smith, Trent Dilfer, Joey Harrington, David Carr, and Kyle Boller.
Professional career[]
In August 2005, Rodgers, agreed to a reported five-year, $7.7 million deal that included $5.4 million in guaranteed money and could pay him as much as $24.5 million if all the incentives and escalators are met.
Rodgers spent a disappointing 4-12 2005 Season as the Packers #3 QB behind Brett Favre, who had his worst NFL season as a starter. Rodgers had little playing time during the year and saw time in a win vs. New Orleans Saints and in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
With the announcement that Favre will play again this coming year (and perhaps more to come), Rodgers is expected to maintain the position of the second QB on the depth chart.
Scouting Report[]
Statistics[]
Passing Stats[]
| year | team | league | games | ATT | CMP | PCT | YDS | YPA | TD | INT | SKD | SKY | RAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | GNB | NFL | 3 | 16 | 9 | 56.3 | 65 | 4.06 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 39.8 |
| 2006 | GNB | NFL | 2 | 15 | 6 | 40 | 46 | 3.07 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 48.2 |
| 2007 | GNB | NFL | 2 | 28 | 20 | 71.4 | 218 | 7.8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 106 |
| 2008 | GNB | NFL | 16 | 536 | 341 | 63.6 | 4038 | 7.5 | 28 | 13 | 34 | 231 | 93.8 |
| NFL career | 23 | 595 | 376 | 63.2 | 4367 | 7.3 | 29 | 14 | 43 | 301 | 91.8 | ||
Rushing Stats[]
| year | team | league | games | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | GNB | NFL | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | 8 |
| 2006 | GNB | NFL | 2 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | 6 |
| 2007 | GNB | NFL | 2 | 7 | 29 | 4.1 | 0 | 13 |
| 2008 | GNB | NFL | 16 | 56 | 207 | 3.7 | 4 | 21 |
| NFL career | 23 | 67 | 254 | 3.8 | 4 | 21 | ||
Fumble Recovery Stats[]
| year | team | league | games | TOT | OWR | OPR | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | GNB | NFL | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | GNB | NFL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | GNB | NFL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | GNB | NFL | 16 | 10 | 5 | 0 | -22 | 0 |
| NFL career | 23 | 13 | 5 | 0 | -22 | 0 | ||