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Aaron Rodgers has won the NFL MVP two years in a row. His off-the-field antics (e.g., the vaccination status fiasco) may have clouded his chances of repeating as MVP, but ultimately the voters only focused on the product on the field. Rodgers posted a 13-3 record in games he started (he infamously missed one game versus the Kansas City Chiefs due to being placed in COVID protocol after it was revealed that he was unvaccinated). In those 16 games, Rodgers threw for 4,115 yards and 37 touchdown passes against only 7 interceptions. Those stats alone tell the story of why voters selected him for MVP again this year.
One NFL analyst provides the reason he did not vote for Aaron Rodgers as MVP
One voter, however, felt differently. Hub Arkush, a Chicago-based NFL sportswriter, was one of 50 Associated Press voters for the NFL MVP award, and he explained why he did not vote for Aaron Rodgers as MVP. Appearing on 670 The Score podcast, Arkush went into detail about his thought process when considering Rodgers and the field for the MVP.
“At the end of the day, the idea that there was ever any personal bias is ridiculous. It‘s subjective. There‘s nothing that requires that the MVP be considered for on-the-field actions only. It‘s not in the rules, it‘s not in the instructions. I just looked at a long list of worthy candidates this year. I would have no argument with Rodgers winning it, Brady winning it, Cooper Kupp winning it, Jonathan Taylor winning it, and I could give you a few more.
I purposefully looked beyond just the on-the-field stuff to see if there were any liabilities. Rodgers brought a ton of liabilities to the Packers this year, that was always my issue. He clearly is the MVP, I don‘t dispute that in any way. It‘s tremendously subjective and, you know, I think I got it right.”
The league MVP usually goes to a quarterback, but it speaks volumes that Cooper Kupp received one vote for the award. Regardless, Rodgers once again led the Packers to the playoffs through a successful regular season where the team ended up being the number 2 overall seed in the NFC. Arkush, who called Aaron Rodgers “the biggest jerk in the league,” had to apologize for discussing his vote publicly before the NFL announced the awards.
Aaron Rodgers himself is facing another offseason full of questions regarding his playing status and team status for the 2022 regular season. Rodgers has the option to stay with the Packers (and presumably with wide receiver Davante Adams, who is a free agent), request a trade to another team, or even retire. He has not currently made a decision publicly.
