New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers caused an uproar with his teammates by missing the mandatory minicamp June 11-13.
Rodgers was seen at some Jets OTAs but was absent when he was asked to head to Jets One in Florham Park, New Jersey. The team believes this is “inexcusable”.
Legendary New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman appeared on Fox Sports’ “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” and admitted Rodgers’ absence was a “terrible performance.”
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New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) gestures during a practice at the NFL football team’s training facility on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Florham Park, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
“I think it’s terrible for your leader to be absent without excuse for any reason,” Edelman said.
“I was with Tom Brady when he was 25 or 23, and he started missing OTAs here and there, but he never missed mandatory minicamp. I just thought it looked bad.”
Edelman went on to explain why he felt that way when he saw Rodgers was no longer with the Jets.
Jets’ Sauce Gardner defends Aaron Rodgers amid criticism for missing minicamp
“I know a lot of people do things differently,” he began. “But God forbid the New York Jets start the season 1-3, they start the season [San Francisco] Nynas (Tennessee) [Titans], [New England] Patriot or otherwise. We all know the Patriots are bad, but the defense is still the same defense, and that’s what Aaron’s opponent is.
“If they go 1-3, it’s going to be a big distraction in the locker room. Because everybody’s going to be talking about it — this is New York City. It’s the media capital of the world.”
Now, Edelman did add that “no one cares” if the Jets start the season undefeated. But given a variety of factors — Rodgers’ Achilles injury cost him four games last season — Edelman believes it would be a benefit if the Jets kept him there.
“I’m a big Aaron Rodgers fan, but if I was in the locker room, Aaron Rodgers missed three days in mandatory minicamp with an injury while we had two new receivers. After four games, we added a group of new linemen to the team. The CBA did not allow us to conduct a lot of training. I guarantee that there are four or five people – there are six, seven, eight, nine people in the locker room – Sitting there, “Where is he?” Edelman said.
New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, No. 11, runs before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Signing to the crowd while on the court. New England won 27-13. (Nick Carmet/Diamond Photo via Getty Images)
The Jets did know that Rodgers would not participate in mandatory minicamp early, but regardless of previous plans, he still resulted in an unexcused absence, which resulted in him being fined.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Brill, who recently appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show,” provided more context for Rodgers’ absence.
“The best question I can answer right now is I feel like he’s in a place where they can’t forgive and maintain the credibility of the rest of the locker room, but predictably, he’s not going to be a left-fielder -” Brill said. It’s an on-field thing for him, “So, you guys can open your mind, so to speak, as he’s been known to open up to all the possibilities at times. “
Breer would allude to Rodgers’ known retreat that he’s discussed publicly, including a dark one last offseason where he knew he wanted to continue playing football, and it would be with the Jets. Rogers is also known for attending ayahuasca retreats.
Cowherd also said last week that Rodgers was enjoying an “overseas” vacation.
Legendary New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman says Aaron Rodgers missing mandatory minicamp ‘looks bad’ (Getty Images)
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Regardless, Breer explained that the absence was something they couldn’t forgive because the Jets wanted to keep things fair.
“They sent the message to him that they couldn’t forgive him for this behavior, and that’s because that’s how you maintain credibility in the locker room,” Brill added. “You can’t do something for a guy that you wouldn’t do for the other stars on the team, let alone a player like that on the roster, right?”
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