During the first week of training camp, Aaron Rodgers’ reactions during practices made headlines on social media.
In a video taken by fans during practices, Rodgers was seen having a heated discussion with Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson. When asked about the two separate exchanges, Rodgers said perception differs from reality.
“What appears to be might not always be what the reality is, whether or not we are upset with each other,” Rodgers said on Wednesday. “We are just passionately talking about the details of a situation that might not have to do with either of us. G and I have a great relationship off the field.
“On the field, there’s a way of doing things that we both agree on. When it doesn’t look exactly how we want it to, there are sometimes some side conversations that happen. I love those conversations.
“It is about the details, it’s about winning, it’s about seeing what he sees. He has to get on my page, but I gotta get on his page too because he has a whole book that I need to understand fully for skill set and ability and feel and rhythm and all the different things that he does out there. Those are good conversations. It might appear to be much more heated than they are, but there’s usually a smile on our face afterward with one of us.”
Prior to Wednesday’s practice, the Jets offense struggled during their first two padded practices. Rodgers didn’t record a touchdown pass either day, and the rhythm and pace of the practice were off.
On Monday, during the second play during 11-on-11 drills, Rodgers’ pass bounced off Allen Lazard‘s hands and was intercepted by safety Chuck Clark.
The Jets offensive line also gave up multiple sacks, and center Joe Tippmann regularly snapped the ball so high that Rodgers had to jump to get the football. In a separate play, Rodgers also had his foot stepped on by Tippmann or left guard John Simpson.
That’s when Rodgers was visibly upset and said something to the Jets offensive line.
“It gets a little overblown from time to time,” Rodgers said. “At practice, the standard is very, very high. I think a lot of that stuff is very benign in general.
“I like to push guys to believe in themselves more than they do at the time. A guy like Joe Tippmann, he has the ability to play a long time in this league at center. He has a chance to be an All-Pro. If he is snapping the ball a little wayward from time to time, he can take it. He can take me jumping his a-s a little bit and getting on him. Sometimes you need to do that. It is all about the energy.
“At practice at times, it fluctuates. You’re up and down on the energy and at certain points, you gotta get on guys. Sometimes, it takes me or Breece [Hall] or Tyron [Smith] or Garrett to get on somebody to get things going.”
The Jets’ first preseason game is less than two weeks away, but Rodgers may not see any game snaps until the Jets’ Week 1 matchup against the 49ers on Monday Night Football on Sept. 9.
The four-time NFL MVP, who has zero restrictions after returning from his season-ending Achilles injury, is not likely to play in any of the Jets’ three preseason games (Commanders, at Panthers, Giants), according to coach Robert Saleh.
Rodgers, 40, and Saleh haven’t discussed what the plan for the preseason will be. But Saleh said his instincts are leaning towards Rodgers not playing until the start of the regular season.
A year ago, Rodgers played two series during the Jets’ preseason finale against the Giants. He completed 5 of 8 passes for 47 yards during that outing.
The Jets have three joint practices against the Commanders, Panthers, and Giants in August that will likely serve as Rodgers’ turn-up for the season.
“That’s Robert’s decision,” Rodgers said. “I never told him I don’t want to play in the preseason. There are a lot of thoughts on whether there’s a particular gain from it.
“We used to play all the time. You would play 10 to 15 in the first one, a quarter and a half in the second one, and the third quarter in the third one, and sometimes Tennessee would always play their guys until the third quarter. Now, no one wants to play their guys.
“It’s different and to combat that, we are doing all these practices with other teams. We have three of those and I’m assuming those will be super heavy days and they will be like the preseason for us. If he decides he wants me to play against the Giants, I will strap it up and look forward to that.”
After two mediocre days offensively, Rodgers and the Jets set the scoreboard on fire during Wednesday’s practice. He completed 10 of 12 passes and threw six red zone touchdown passes (three to Wilson, two to Hall, and one to rookie Malachi Corley).
Rodgers did have an interception when a pass was tipped by Javon Kinlaw on the line of scrimmage and grabbed by Quinnen Williams.
“Just finding a way to get better every day,” Wilson said about the Jets offensive success. “If we go out there and did the same thing that we did the day before, that’s not where we are supposed to be at. Those notes that we take in film and applying it the next day so we can finish how we did. I feel like we always do a good job of competing out there, but the next steps are finding a way to win in those situations, win those different competitions and we did that today. It was a good day.”
Originally Published:
