Aaron Rodgers goes to great lengths to protect his hand signals

Photo Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is very particular about a number of things. One of those are hand signals, which he goes to great lengths to protect. But he also goes to equally great lengths to ensure his teammates know them — as many as 30 per week.

Every Saturday, Rodgers meets with his teammates and gives them pop quizzes on the hand signals. It’s a stressful time for the players.

“The signal meetings was by far the worst thing,” former Packers wide receiver Chris Blair told The Athletic. “I used to hate those.”

“You don’t want to get called on because. . . you gotta do it in front of the whole team,” Bears wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who was previously with the Packers, added.

Whether the player is a veteran or a rookie, Rodgers has the same expectations. They must know all of the signals and be able to recognize them on the fly.

“It’s probably the most nerve-racking for a young player because we don’t get taught them,” ex-Packers running back Kylin Hill said.

Even Jordan Love, Rodgers’ primary backup, recognizes how stressful it is for the players. He has empathy.

“That’s definitely something wide receivers don’t look forward to, is the signal meeting, because we have so many,” Love said. “You don’t want any of that stuff getting out, so we wait until the season starts to start going through signals.”

And it’s not as if players can study them off a tablet or even out of an old-school binder. Rodgers is so protective of the hand signals, they aren’t written down anywhere. The coaches themselves don’t even know them.

“We don’t teach them because players get released every day or traded, so we don’t want anybody giving out A-Rod’s signals,” Hill said.

It’s memory only for Rodgers and his teammates. And oftentimes, he’ll even recycle hand signals from years past. It’s a constant rotation and a very difficult thing for young players to grasp.

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