Aaron Rodgers' Prime Years Being 'Wasted Away' At Green Bay Packers: Smith

The prime years of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers are being "wasted away," according to ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith.

The topic comes just a few days after the Packers suffered a 31-23 defeat to the Detroit Lions over the weekend, having been 24-0 down at halftime, to take their record in the new season to 2-2-1.

Rodgers, who is still not completely 100 percent after suffering a knee injury during Week 1, was admittedly "off" during the game and was playing without two of his three starting wide receivers, although he did end the game strongly with three touchdown passes in the second half and throwing for 442 yards.

However, he was already reported to be frustrated with the situation in Green Bay. Following their 22-0 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 4, the 34-year-old notably claimed the side's offense was "terrible" despite the victory, as he seemingly took a dig at head coach Mike McCarthy's play calling.

His relationship with McCarthy was under the microscope before that game as well, while Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports recently reported there is "certainly a sense of urgency throughout the organization to begin to maximize the remainder of the prime of the passer's career" with Rodgers also said to be frustrated with certain staff changes.

While some might argue a fully healthy Rodgers may have led to more wins this season, Smith believes there are deeper problems.

"Coming into this week, all three of their receivers could not practice because they were hobbled injury-wise," Smith said on ESPN. "I don't give a damn who Aaron Rodgers is, you can't do anything if you don't have anyone to throw the football to and we know what he thinks of the practice players and the reserves because we heard what he felt about them before the season even began."

"The issue with the Green Bay Packers is Mike McCarthy. It's time that we look at Mike McCarthy and ask ourselves this question — you have the greatest quarterback, I'm talking about from a talent perspective, clearly of this generation, and it's wasting away the greatest years of Aaron Rodgers' career because of a) the inability of [team president] Mark Murphy and those guys to put the requisite pieces around him and b) for Mike McCarthy to coach them," Smith added.

Ultimately, it's a personnel and coaching issue for Smith as he believes Rodgers is a "one-man army" for the Packers, which is why they made him the richest player in the game when he signed a four-year deal potentially worth upto $180 million in late August.

As for McCarthy, it remains to be seen whether he will be working with Rodgers in the long-term, especially with his contract expiring after the 2019 season.

The Packers are still second in the NFC North division behind the Chicago Bears though, and will look to get back to winning ways when they take on the San Francisco 49ers on Monday.