New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is truly one of the best players to ever play in the NFL. When his career is all said and done, the four-time NFL MVP will undoubtedly be a first ballot selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Indeed, very few (if any) have ever played the quarterback position with as much talent and intelligence as Rodgers has.
That being said, Rodgers is also one of the most polarizing athletes in professional sports today. He is now just as well known for his non-mainstream beliefs and opinions as he is for his play on the field. Part of the reason for this is because he essentially missed the entire 2023 NFL season due to a torn Achilles.
Without his incredible achievements on the gridiron to talk about, the media has instead focused on the things Rodgers says and does away from the football field.
New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Wants the Team to Focus Only on Football
When the Jets first acquired Rodgers via trade with the Green Bay Packers prior to the 2023 NFL Draft, the expectation was that they would make the NFL Playoffs for the first time since 2010 and, perhaps, even compete for a Super Bowl.
Of course, that did not happen. Rodgers’ injury was a big part of another losing season in New York, but the fact of the matter is that there were many issues. After the season, it was clear that many changes were needed, and Rodgers believed that one of the biggest changes needed to be a change in the team’s mindset.
When speaking to the media after the season was over, Rodgers said, “If you want to be a winning organization and put yourself in position to win championships and be competitive, everything that you do matters. And the bulls— that has nothing to do with winning needs to get out of the building. So that’ll be the focus moving forward.”
On the one hand, Rodgers is absolutely right. All of that extra stuff has no place in a winning organization.
On the other hand, Rodgers has not followed that advice himself.
New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Has Not Followed His Own Advice
Since making those statements back in January, Rodgers has not exactly practiced what he preached. While all NFL players are free to spend their offseason any way that they want to, they are also responsible for preparing for the upcoming season.
While Rodgers certainly did his rehab and workouts individually, his “everything you do matters” statement in regard to how actions and words affect the team must not have applied to him in his own mind. Since the season ended, Rodgers was named as a possible running mate for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for President.
He also made a series of podcast appearances where he shared his controversial opinions on a variety of topics, such as how the NFL has been bought and sold by Big Pharma.
And while he was present at the team’s OTA’s this spring, he decided that the would skip mandatory minicamp to go on a trip to Egypt.
This decision, too, has ruffled some feathers, including those of a former Jets head coach.
Former New York Jets Head Coach Eric Mangini Criticizes Aaron Rodgers for Skipping Mandatory Minicamp
In a recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, former Jets head coach Eric Mangini expressed his disappointment in Rodgers’ decision to skip mandatory minicamp, claiming that it was hypocritical of him to do so after his statement about everyone needing to focus on football and winning:
“What’s disappointing about that situation is he was the one that talked about the importance of limiting distraction. He was the one that would talk about the importance of focusing on only football.
“And all the things that he preaches in the press conference. And then you get in this situation where he misses the mandatory minicamp, and I get that he was at the voluntary part and I think that’s great. But it’s not a secret when mandatory minicamp is. This year was actually a little bit earlier than last year’s mandatory mini-camp for the Jets. And then you understand when vacation is and if you have a trip that’s planned, you can set it up in a way that it doesn’t disturb the one thing that you’re required to do in the off season.
“So it does it matter, in the grand scheme of things, in terms of him missing those two days is going to dramatically change how he performs, or the other group performs? No, but it’s more indicative of all the noise that’s brought into the building that’s so unnecessary and distracts from everything else that they’re trying to get.
“And at the end of the day, if he doesn’t win this year – he’s gone. The coaching staff is gone. And the Jets are starting – probably the GM is gone. Everybody’s starting over.”
This idea that everyone could be gone is something that Rodgers acknowledged as well when he was in town for New York’s voluntary OTA’s.
He knows what is at stake this season. One just has to wonder if he really is 100% bought in. If he were, would he have skipped mandatory minicamp?
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