Irked in Ireland: Rodgers put off by travel plans

DUBLIN -- Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers touched down successful Ireland a small aft 8 a.m. section clip Friday, but if the backmost had his way, they would person arrived to the land overmuch earlier up of Sunday's matchup with the Minnesota Vikings astatine Croke Park.

"It is what it is, but if the docket had been a small different, if I could person chosen it, possibly we get implicit connected Monday, Tuesday is the time off," Rodgers said during a pre-practice quality league Friday. "Good to get out, spot immoderate things. It's a beauteous country, it seems like, from pictures."

NFL teams are liable for determining their question schedules, league sources told ESPN, but Steelers proprietor Art Rooney II said they "worked with the league successful a associated discussion."

Rooney added that the squad made a "football decision" successful determining the schedule.

"I would've liked to person the guys implicit present for a fewer much days too," Rooney said. "But we're successful the mediate of the season, truthful we had to bash what's champion for the shot broadside of things."

The Steelers practiced successful Pittsburgh connected Wednesday and Thursday earlier taking disconnected for Dublin connected Thursday evening up of the archetypal NFL regular-season crippled successful Ireland. The squad is staying astir an hr extracurricular Dublin's metropolis halfway successful a self-contained edifice that has signifier fields connected the grounds. Rooney said the squad volition person a fewer hours of escaped clip to research the country and spell into Dublin connected Saturday afternoon.

"I person a household past going backmost to Ireland and Scotland, truthful I've ever wanted to get implicit here," Rodgers said. "... I'm a historian, truthful I know, benignant of, the history, geopolitically, successful the area. I'm a immense instrumentality of Guinness. I don't truly portion beer, but if I do, I portion Guinness. That's not a bulls--- enactment that I'm telling you guys. It's the truth. I've heard it tastes antithetic disconnected the pat connected Ireland and the States. I've been successful Northern [Ireland], and it was great, but I'm excited astir seeing what it tastes similar here."