New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has finally shared his thoughts on his controversial absence from his team's mandatory minicamp. The Hall of Famer seemed to trivialize the gravity of minicamps, suggesting that they're not much more important than OTAs.
“They can arbitrarily put a tag on whatever week of OTAs they want and say, ‘This is the minicamp week,' which makes it somehow more mandatory than the other weeks,” said Rodgers during a recent appearance on Pardon My Take podcast (h/t Rich Cimini of ESPN)
“But it was an OTA schedule. That's how words can be a little deceiving from time to time. They can make a story out of the fact that I missed minicamp, but it was really two OTA days, but [I] came to the first 10,” Rodgers added.
It can be recalled that Jets head coach Robert Saleh informed the media in June that Rodgers did not take part in the said mandatory minicamp because of an “event that was very important to him [Rodgers].” Saleh also shared that Rodgers had informed him of the event but the absence remained unexcused.
It was later reported that the reason behind Aaron Rodgers' absence was a pre-planned trip to Egypt.
As reported earlier this July by NFL insider Connor Hughes of SNY, Rodgers' decision to continue on his trip to Africa amid the minicamp did not result in any resentment from at least some of his teammates.
“Multiple players SNY touched base with had zero issues with Rodgers missing minicamp, all pointing towards his attendance during the voluntary portion. Those same players were surprised that those outside One Jets Drive felt differently,” Hughes wrote.
Rodgers also does not seem to be greatly bothered by his absence getting the “unexcused” label, which sent waves across the NFL realm, with many concerned whether his action set a bad precedent.
“Oh, I don't know. I'm sure I'll get fined for that,” the 40-year-old signal-caller said on the Pardon My Take podcast when asked about it.
Although he is technically in his second year with the Jets, Aaron Rodgers can view the 2024 NFL campaign as his first with the team — again. He appeared in only four snaps overall in 2023 with the Jets before going down with a season-ending Achilles injury during a Week 1 home game against the Buffalo Bills. From there, the Jets' season was virtually considered over even though they still managed to win seven games.
With Zach Wilson mostly handling New York's quarterbacking duties, the Jets' offense looked completely different than what the team expected it to be when they acquired Rodgers via a blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers. In 2023, New York ranked just 29th in the league with only 15.8 points scored per game and 31st with 268.6 total yards generated per outing.
Jets training camp underway
With Aaron Rodgers speaking at last about his absence, he hopes that everyone can just focus on something else, as the Jets start their training camp. Jets rookies have already reported to camp last Thursday while veterans are expected to show up this Tuesday at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey.
The Jets, who have not been to the NFL playoffs since 2010 will open their 2024 campaign on Sep. 9 on the road against the reigning NFC champions San Francisco 49ers.
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