On a recent podcast episode, the New York Jets quarterback addressed his absence from mandatory minicamp
Aaron Rodgers has broken his silence regarding his absence from mandatory minicamp.
Appearing on “Pardon My Take,” the quarterback spoke about missing practice and the backlash that arose from his decision.
“The thing that people don’t understand is that when I was in the NFC North years ago, there used to be a real thing called minicamp, which consisted of five practices in three days. Now, it’s not minicamp. They can arbitrarily put a tag on whatever week of OTAs they want and say this is the minicamp week, which makes it more mandatory than the other weeks,” said Rodgers.
“But it was an OTA schedule. That’s how words can be a little deceiving from time to time. It can make a story about how I missed a minicamp when it was really two OTA days. I came to the first 10.”
Aaron Rodgers on @PardonMyTake about all the noise about him skipping #Jets minicamp for a trip to Egypt:
“The thing that people don’t understand was that when I was in the NFC North years ago there used to be a real thing called minicamp where it was … it was five practices…
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) July 22, 2024
In all honesty, Rodgers’s comments are a bit all over the place. Simply commenting that he missed a mandatory practice and acknowledging that he was at every other one would have likely sufficed.
However, that does not mean that Rodgers is wrong. He attended every optional OTA session in the early summer and was constantly getting work with his teammates, meaning that his absence should be a non-story.
However, OTAs are in the rearview window now, as training camp starts in a few days. Rodgers’s June absences are a non-factor and will not affect the upcoming season.
What matters now is the veteran quarterback preparing himself for the season, as he is the most critical piece of the Jets’ path to contending in 2024.
