Aaron Rodgers might not have enough self-awareness to know he’s a distraction for the New York Jets, but he just can’t help himself from causing them.
After attending voluntary workouts the past two offseasons and preaching the importance of eliminating distractions, Rodgers is not at the Jets’ mandatory minicamp this week. Predictably, Rodgers’ absence is causing a distraction.
While head coach Roberts Saleh stressed to the media that it’s an unexcused absence subject to fines, he also claimed Rodgers informed the team he wouldn’t be attending minicamp before the start of OTAs last month, citing having an event that was very important to him. This case of ‘Where in the world is Aaron Rodgers?’ prompted Pat McAfee to ask A.J. Hawk if he knew where his former teammate is.
“I have no idea where Aaron Rodgers could be”@OfficialAJHawk #PMSLive https://t.co/J8wSEnPt2Q pic.twitter.com/RyIkubYQze
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 11, 2024
“The opportunities are endless,” Hawk said. “He could be anywhere on the planet right now. We don’t know what that could be. We really don’t. Why don’t you Google ‘cool things happening over the next three days.’ He might be there.”
Do the Jets even know where Aaron Rodgers is right now?
“It’s inexcused, [sic] but he had an event that was very important to him, which he communicated,” Saleh said of Rodgers’ absence. An event that was very important to Rodgers, but apparently not that important to Saleh or the Jets. Because if the Jets were made aware Rodgers was going to miss minicamp for an event that was very important to him weeks ago, why didn’t they get out in front of it to help eliminate the potential distraction?
“I just think this was an interesting angle for coach Saleh to go into,” McAfee said regarding the way Saleh stressed it was an ‘inexcused’ absence. “And I’m sure it will be fine. I’m sure everything will be A-okay, but this just causes unneeded sh*t.”
“Unneeded sh*t” that makes it look like the Jets and Rodgers aren’t on the same page. The kind of “unneeded sh*t” that could certainly be perceived as a distraction, even though Rodgers insists he doesn’t cause those.
The best guess, although it is just a guess, is that this event has something to do with Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s campaign trail. If that’s the case, the Jets excusing Rodgers from mandatory minicamp to attend a political rally or event would undoubtedly set a bad precedent. But regardless of his reasoning, this unexcused absence is undeniably an unexcused distraction for the Jets caused by their polarizing quarterback and fueled by their head coach. And it’s only June.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com