Last offseason, the New York Jets decided to place their franchise in the hands of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
For the first time in a long time, there was tangible hope in the Meadowlands. With Super Bowl aspirations, the Jets were featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” and were rewarded with numerous primetime games. Then, after just four offensive snaps in the regular season, Rodgers ruptured his left Achilles tendon.
The 2024 season will be career-defining for Jets general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh. Another disappointing campaign could result in a complete teardown of the roster. “We’re all going to be on the hot seat next year,” Rodgers acknowledged in January.
Yet, when the team’s mandatory minicamp began, the four-time MVP was no where to found.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh told reporters that Rodgers was attending “an event that was very important to him.” However, the absences were not excused and he was subject to be fined in accordance with the 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman shared his thoughts on Rodgers’ minicamp absence during an appearance on Fox Sports’ “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.”
“I think it’s a bad look for your leader, for whatever reason, to go and miss an unexcused absence,” Edelman said. “I was with Tom Brady in [one of his last seasons], and he started missing OTAs here and there, but he was still there [and] never missed a mandatory minicamp. I just thought it was a bad look.”
The Jets added several pieces to their offensive line and wide receiver room this offseason, and developing chemistry with the new players is vital. With drastic restrictions to offseason training programs under the new CBA, every team practice is valuable.
Even if missing minicamp isn’t the difference between winning and losing, the absences by the team’s de facto leader carry a lot of weight.
“I guarantee there’s [a lot] of guys in that locker room, sitting there like, ‘Where’s he at?’” Edelman added.
The Jets offense will face a defensive gauntlet in the opening month of the regular season. New York will open the season with two road games against the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans before heading home to face the Patriots and Denver Broncos.
“I know a lot of people do things differently, but God forbid the New York Jets started 1-3 at the beginning of the season,” Edelman said. “We all know the Patriots are no good, but that defense is still the same defense, and that’s who Aaron goes against.”
For Rodgers, those matchups will be his first meaningful football games since the end of the 2022 regular season.
“If they go 1-3, this is going to be such a big distraction for that locker room,” Edelman said. “Because everyone is going to be talking about it – this is New York City. It’s the media capital of the world.”
“Now, if they start 4-0, no one’s going to care,” Edelman added.
Saleh downplayed Rodgers’ absences, claiming he was on “the exact same page” as the future Hall of Fame quarterback. Still, the absence has stirred controversy regarding Rodgers’ hypocrisy. In January, Rodgers was critical of his teammates for allowing distractions into the locker room and demanded that the team “flush the bull—-” and “focus on winning.”
Rodgers then spent the offseason flirting with a vice presidential bid, engaging in a blood feud with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, sharing controversial social commentary, and now skipping mandatory team workouts for “an event,” which Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer hinted could be an ayahuasca retreat.
Rodgers, the oldest active player in the NFL, has see-sawed between being “90 percent retired,” wanting to play another two years, and hoping to play up to four years.
Yet, at times, it seems as if he already has one foot out of the proverbial door.
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