New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a full go at 2024 training camp. And he’s opening up about his much-publicized absence from mandatory minicamp, suggesting the team fined him more than $50,000 for his unexcused trip to Egypt, while insisting he and coach Robert Saleh are currently in sync.
“Back in some of the doldrums of the rehab, I thought it’d be fun to put together a trip with some friends,” Rodgers said Wednesday, referring to his recovery from 2023’s season-ending Achilles tear. “I had a great talk with Robert. Obviously he wanted me to be there [for minicamp]. I knew the consequences if I wasn’t gonna be there. The reaction is what it is.”
The consequences? A team-sanctioned fine that “might’ve been a little more” than $50,000, the typical penalty for veterans missing mandatory practice days. Still, Rodgers doesn’t seem to regret his trip.
“I made it a point to be at every OTA, I was at the physical day as a part of the minicamp … [and I] had talks with all my teammates about it. I think they all understood it was more of an issue outside the building than it was inside the building. … Robert and I are great. … I’m an adult. I knew what I was getting into. I knew the fine that was coming. I also knew how much I wanted to be in Egypt. I wish there hadn’t been a conflict schedule-wise, but it was what it was.”
Why Egypt, of all places? Rodgers said it’s been on his “bucket list” for a while, and that he’s had a fascination with area mythology for “three decades.” He originally scheduled the trip based off last year’s Jets offseason schedule, only to learn there was a conflict after the fact.
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Author: Cody Benjamin
July 24, 2024 | 2:15 pm
