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Packers' Rodgers escaped Peru before airport shutdown

Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers during red carpet arrivals for the NFL Honors show Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Fox Theatre. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers barely got out of Peru on March 18 just before the airport closed down due to the coronavirus pandemic, he said Friday.

Speaking to radio hosts A.J. Hawk, Rodgers' former Green Bay teammate, and Pat McAfee, a former Indianapolis Colts punter, Rodgers recounted a frantic exit from South America for himself and three traveling companions.

"That was quite the ordeal," Rodgers said. "Have you seen the movie 'Argo'? You have? The scene at the end where they're racing to the airport. Nobody was chasing us, thankfully, or holding us. We didn't have to speak Farsi to get back into the country, but there were some moments where we worried we were not going to get out.

"It was absolute pandemonium at the airport."

The group had a private plane, which Rodgers said was crucial to getting out that morning.

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"When we rolled up to the airport at like 7 in the morning, it was wall-to-wall people and you couldn't move," Rodgers said. "I was thinking, 'This isn't very safe.' Not many masks on, and there was definitely a panic in the air. But somehow (we) made it down and then they shut the airport down because it was really bad weather.

"They had a drop-dead time where they were going to shut the entire airport down. We made it by about 15 minutes."

Rodgers said he has remained healthy and that none of his traveling companions have experienced any COVID-19 symptoms. He added they had been visiting a remote section of southeast Peru that had not experienced a coronavirus outbreak.

"I think we're in the clear," he said.

Since returning to the United States, Rodgers has been at home in Malibu, Calif., with his girlfriend Danica Patrick, a former racecar driver. He said he has ventured out on a few occasions for supplies amid California's stay-at-home order.

On Thursday, Rodgers found toilet paper available at the store for the first time.

"I bought a six-pack and that was a good day," he said.

Ervin returns

The Packers will re-sign return specialist Tyler Ervin to a one-year deal, ESPN's Field Yates reported Friday.

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The Packers claimed Ervin off waivers in December from the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he energized the Packers on special teams.

In four games with the Packers, Ervin returned six kickoffs for 160 yards (26.7 yards per return) and 11 punts for 106 yards (9.6). In two postseason games, he returned three kickoffs for 41 yards.

Ervin, 26, was selected by Houston in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft from San Jose State. He spent three seasons with the Texans, then the first half of the 2019 season with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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