Aaron Rodgers puts Pat McAfee in awkward position with brutal Russini-Vrabel take

Jeremy GoldsteinTue, August 4, 2026 at 12:22 AM UTC

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Aaron Rodgers let loose on ESPN to Pat McAfee on Monday -Credit:X/Pat McAfee Show

Aaron Rodgers wasn't taking any prisoners in his brief segment on Monday's taping of 'The Pat McAfee Show' on ESPN, shot live from Pittsburgh Steelers training camp with fans in the backdrop.

The 42-year-old Steelers signal caller, set for his final NFL season, started off the segment by mocking former NIAID director Anthony Fauci for repeatedly pleading the fifth in front of a Republican-led Senate hearing last week. "I'm gonna plead the fifth," Rodgers said to McAfee's first question.

When he mentioned how much ESPN covered his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccination, Rodgers then transitioned to another sensitive subject for McAfee's network: photos of Diana Russini and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel that surfaced in the offseason.

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“Then there was another scandal this offseason, too, involving a voter for MVP, for coach of the year,” Rodgers said, drawing a reaction from McAfee's on-air team. “How much time did your network spend on that?” McAfee remained uncomfortable in his chair during the interaction.

Russini, a former ESPN beat reporter for the Tennessee Titans while Vrabel was head coach, was let go by The Athletic after a series of photographs of her and Vrabel were released together throughout the offseason.

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Images of the pair at a New York bar in 2020, a couple's retreat in 2026, and a slew of others all came out over a few-week period ahead of the NFL Draft.

Russini, now a national reporter, has a vote for NFL Coach of the Year and other awards (though ballots are not released publicly). This upset Rodgers, who gave McAfee an expletive-filled rant.

Aaron Rodgers's comments on Diana Russini left Pat McAfee uncomfortable

“Like, you have literally an individual that maybe used to work at ESPN that covers our league at the highest level, and there’s a major scandal, and it’s just, like, nobody can ------ talk about it,” he stated. “What are we even doing here?"

"If it’s affecting certain things, if there’s leaks going on, if there’s tampering going on, if that person is also an MVP voter and a coach of the year voter," Rodgers added.

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Rodgers was equally pointed when speaking about Anthony Fauci.

“What are you gonna say about me now?” he asked. “No, seriously, what are you gonna say about me now? You can’t talk about the COVID stuff because obviously it was made in a lab in China, that’s not even questionable anymore. Tony Fauci is an absolute criminal, and I’m on good terms with my family, what’re you gonna say now?”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”