During the first week of training camp, Aaron Rodgers’ reactions during practices made headlines on social media.
In a video taken by fans during practice, Rodgers is seen having a heated argument with Jets receiver Garrett Wilson. Asked about the two separate exchanges, Rodgers said perception differs from reality.
“What appears to be is not always the reality, whether we’re mad at each other or not,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “We just talk passionately about the details of a situation that may have nothing 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 things don’t go exactly the way we want them to, sometimes there are side conversations that happen. I love those conversations.
“It’s about the details, it’s about winning, it’s about seeing what he sees. He has to get me on the same page, but I have to get myself on the same page because he has a whole repertoire that I have to understand perfectly in terms of his skills, his abilities, his feel, his pace and all the different things he does on the field. They’re good conversations. They can seem a lot more animated than they are, but we usually have a smile on our faces after meeting one of us.”
Heading into Wednesday’s practice, the Jets’ offense struggled in its first two practices with pads. Rodgers didn’t throw a touchdown pass in either day, and the pace and cadence of the practice weren’t there.
On Monday, during the second play of 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 several sacks, and center Joe Tippmann regularly threw the ball so high that Rodgers had to jump to get it. In other play, Rodgers also had his foot crushed by either Tippmann or left guard John Simpson.
That’s when Rodgers got visibly upset and said something to the Jets offensive line.
“We sometimes overdo it a little bit,” Rodgers said. “In training, the level is very, very high. I think a lot of that stuff is very benign in general.”
“I like to push players to believe in themselves more than they do at that moment. A guy like Joe Tippmann has the ability to play a long time in this league at center. He has a chance to be an All-Pro. If he makes a mistake every once in a while, he can take it. He can jump on me a little bit and put me on him. Sometimes you have to do that. It’s all about energy.”
“In practice, sometimes there are fluctuations. You have ups and downs in terms of energy and, at certain times, you have to fight against the guys. Sometimes it takes me or Breece [Hall] or Tyron [Smith] or that Garrett contacts someone to move things forward.
The Jets’ first preseason game is less than two weeks away, but Rodgers might not see game snaps until the Jets’ Week 1 game against the 49ers on Monday Night Football on Sept. 9.
The four-time NFL MVP, who has no restrictions after returning from a season-ending Achilles injury, is unlikely to play in any of the Jets’ three preseason games (Commanders, Panthers, Giants), according to coach Robert Saleh.
Rodgers, 40, and Saleh have yet to discuss what the preseason plan will be. But Saleh said his gut is leaning toward Rodgers not playing until the regular season begins.
A year ago, Rodgers played two series in the Jets’ final preseason game against the Giants. He completed 5 of 8 passes for 47 yards in that outing.
The Jets have three joint practices against the Commanders, Panthers and Giants in August that will likely serve as Rodgers’ preparation for the season.
“It’s Robert’s decision,” Rodgers said. “I never told him I didn’t want to play in pre-season. There’s a lot of thought that it might provide a particular benefit.”
“We used to play all the time. You’d play 10 or 15 in the first quarter, a quarter and a half in the second, and the third quarter in the third, and sometimes Tennessee would still play their guys until the third quarter. Now, nobody wants to play their guys.
“It’s different and to combat that we’re doing all these workouts with other teams. We’ve got three of them and I guess they’re going to be really busy days and it’s going to be like preseason for us. If he decides he wants me to play against the Giants, I’ll be in there and I’ll be looking forward to it.”
After two mediocre days on offense, Rodgers and the Jets lit up the scoreboard in Wednesday’s practice. He completed 10 of 12 passes and threw six touchdown passes in the red zone (three to Wilson, two to Hall and one to rookie Malachi Corley).
Rodgers had an interception when a pass was deflected by Javon Kinlaw at the line of scrimmage and caught by Quinnen Williams.
“You just have to find a way to get better every day,” Wilson said of the Jets’ offensive success. “If we go out there and do the same thing we did the day before, that’s not where we’re supposed to be. Those notes that we take on video and apply the next day so we can finish the way we did. I feel like we always do a good job of being competitive on the field, but the next steps are finding a way to win in those situations, win those different competitions and that’s what we did today. It was a good day.”
Originally published:
