NFL

Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers was picked off by a college student and he didn’t like it

In a charity match back in March the Packers star through an interception only to have the culprit literally hand him back the ball and the 4 time MVP was not happy about it..

Paul Rudder
AFP

While Rodgers has never been one to shy away from dishing out some barbs, it appears that maybe he’s not so calm when taking them

Aaron Rodgers was taunted by a College player

As reigning MVP one can imagine that Aaron Rodgers isn’t the kind of quarterback who often throws interceptions, in fact on the few occasions when it has happened opposing players can often be seen celebrating as though they had won a championship. Fewer still - if at all - are the occasions when Rodgers has been taunted after such an error, but in a recent charity match both of those things happened and what’s worse, is that it was at the hands of a player who is still in college.

As video clips of the event were would later show the interception was clear cut as was the contentious moment that followed, when Darius Maxwell having just picked off Rodgers’ pass, proceeded to walk back to the Packers’ star quarterback at which point he gave the ball back to Rodgers. To be clear, were such a blatant show of disrespect to occur in the NFL during a game, it is highly likely the player in question would be at the very least flagged for taunting.

What did Darius Maxwell say about the pick and taunt?

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, the future D2 player was matter fact about the now infamous moment, explaining that free agent cornerback Josh Norman - also present at the event - was equally as shocked by his decision to hand the ball to Rodgers as everyone else. “That just happened,” Maxwell said of handing the ball back to Rodgers. “I don’t even remember what made me want to give him the ball. Josh Norman was there, too. Josh was like, ‘That’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone to do that in person.’ I said, ‘I know. That’s why I did it.’”

Visibly displeased, Rodgers can also be seen throwing the ball at Maxwell’s legs. Indeed, it’s not common to see such a thing on a football field and even less so when it involves one of the game’s greats. Needless to say Rodgers made clear where he stood on the whole affair. “It’s crazy,” Maxwell continued. “During the play, I didn’t even know he threw the ball [toward me]. Everybody in the camp told me he threw the ball [toward me]. I didn’t know until I saw the video.”

All’s well that ends well: Rodgers and Maxwell on good terms

While we will never know for sure if Rodgers was truly upset or simply engaging in a little gamesmanship in the same vein as Maxwell, it holds no importance as in the end both could be seen on good terms. “Aaron, he’s a very competitive and very nice person. He was very, very nice. Very nice,” Maxwell said. “Right after the game, he was asking us about our story and how it is in JUCO. He’s unbelievable.”

How did D2 bound Maxwell pick Aaron Rodgers?

On his way to Division II Wheeling University in the fall, the former Junior college in California (Saddleback College) player exlained just how he picked off the Green Bay great who had three receivers on the fourth-down play. Rodgers had three receivers on the fourth-down play. “He made the No. 1 guy run a corner route, made the No. 2 run a pivot route and made the No. 3 run a crossing route,” Maxwell said. “All I did was back up like I was on the corner route, came back up on the pivot route. I knew he saw the corner route so, as soon I saw him release, I just jumped right back to it. Basically, I baited him into it.” Consider for a moment that Maxwell is casually talking about baiting a four-time NFL MVP. To put things in perspective, Rodgers threw just four interceptions across the entire 2021 season. Incidentally the play in question actually occurred back on March 12th, but video was only made available this week, which means Maxwell can now prove his famous moment with video evidence.

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