It’s officially a new era at the Green Bay Packers facility as the rookie minicamp starts this weekend. With a plethora of draft picks and undrafted rookie free agents flooding into Green Bay this weekend, the equipment staff gave Aaron Rodgers’ old locker to a rookie on this year’s roster.
According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Packers fifth-round draft pick Sean Clifford was given Rodgers’ old locker. On the plate reads No. 8, the same number Rodgers will wear with the New York Jets. It’s a simple but obvious message from the Packers organization: Rodgers has been replaced.
Clifford said he appreciates the history of who was in that locker, but his ultimate goal is to be the best Packers player he can be:
“I’m first and foremost just blessed to be a Green Bay Packer and be in the NFL, that’s what I’m really excited about. Secondly, I obviously understand who was in here before, and I respect everything about that. At the same time, I came in, I found my name on the plate and I sat down…It’s a locker to me, and I’m just excited to be in the locker room with these guys.”
The fifth-round draft pick will have a chance to earn his spot in the Packers locker room. General manager Brian Gutekunst said he wanted to see how Clifford and Jordan Love did in reps this spring before deciding if he needed to bring in a veteran quarterback in camp.
Clifford isn’t amazed with the footsteps he’s walking into this season. He seems focused on doing his job for the Packers. That’s a good sign for the young rookie.
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