Greg Jennings made headlines earlier in the offseason when he lashed out against the Green Bay Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers when the team opted not to re-sign him. He ripped on Rodgers' leadership skills while claiming he was brainwashed during his time with the team. Now with the Minnesota Vikings, the wide receiver is realizing he probably took things a little too far.
"I probably took it a little too far," Jennings said, via ESPN.com. "No, I was happy there. Obviously there's things that go on throughout life that you wish would be different. But it is what it is. You have to roll with the punches. Obviously, on my end of it, I feel like there were a lot of things that were kind of manipulated to appear a lot worse than what I was intending for them to be. That's just, as a player, you have to watch what you say, so you learn and you grow."
The wide receiver went on to say that initially he was just messing around with the comments and things were simply blown out of proportion when the media go ahold of things. Jennings played the first seven seasons of his career with the Packers before signing a five-year, $45 million deal with Minnesota. The veteran credits Green Bay for being where he played his best football and he is thankful for his time with the team.
"There were some things said that, man, if I could say it over again, I would have to reword it, so it could be conveyed a little differently. But they were said," Jennings said. "I can't focus on that. I have to focus on the now, and who I am and where I am now. I have a lot of love for everyone in that locker room. I don't hate, have no hatred for anyone in that locker room."
Jennings addressed his negativity towards Rodgers. Originally he said the quarterback was never willing to take one for the team. He criticized the quarterback for acting one way towards the media and another way towards teammates. He believed Rodgers never held himself accountable for mistakes. Jennings now says he was never wishing ill upon Rodgers with his statements.
"If Aaron knows me like he's known me over the past seven years, then he knows I'm not one of those guys that wishes ill will on anyone or tries to stand out and be apart from the team," Jennings said. "Hopefully he knows that. Again, I can't live in the past or what was said. I have to move on."
On his part, Rodgers said he has no bitterness towards Jennings. He respects the wide receiver and wishes him the best during his time in Minnesota.
"Well, I'm not going to approach it with any bitterness or any malice towards him," Rodgers said. "I choose to remember the great times that we had together, the great wins, the incredible moments. That's what I like to focus on."