Aaron Rodgers finally has found something to not be happy about in New York. The always short-tempered and moody four-time NFL MVP recently spoke out against the Jets being picked to appear on the latest edition of HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”
Disgruntled Quarterback
The Jets acquired Rodgers in a trade on April 24 from the Green Bay Packers. The decorated 18-year veteran quarterback has been all smiles with his new team and teammates until recently. He spoke to a reporter from KPIX 5 at the American Century Championship golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the former Super Bowl MVP expressed how he wasn’t too thrilled for the cameras to be in his face during the first training camp with his new team.
“They forced it down our throats and we have to deal with it,” Rodgers told KPIX.
The “they” he is referring to is the NFL. There were reportedly four teams in the mix to appear on the “Hard Knocks” program: the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Washington Commanders. The requirements for avoiding an appearance on “Hard Knocks” are as follows: team has a first-year head coach, has a playoff berth in the last two seasons or has appeared on the show in the past 10 years.
All of those are requirements that the Jets do not meet. They last appeared on the show in 2010, last made the playoffs in 2010, and their head coach Robert Saleh was hired in 2021. Rodgers did say that he understands the intrigue for the NFL to pick the Jets.
“I understand the appeal with us,” Rodgers said to KPIX. “Obviously, there are a lot of eyes on me, a lot of eyes on our team, a lot of expectations for our squad.”
Saleh is also not too thrilled about “Hard Knocks” being around either.
“I know there are several teams that would love ‘Hard Knocks’ to be in their building,” Saleh said on June 9 to SI.com. “We’re just not one of them.”
Happy About Something
Despite both the head coach and quarterback not being happy to see HBO in training camp, the future Hall of Famer did say that he loved one thing about the show.
“One of the only things I like about ‘Hard Knocks’ is the voice of God, the man who narrates it, Liev,” Rodgers said. “I hope I get to meet him.”
Liev Schreiber is the ‘Voice of God’ to which Rodgers is referring. Schreiber is a voice actor who has played in movies such as “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” made an appearance on “The Simpsons” television show in 2019, and narrated “Inside the Manson Cult: The Lost Tapes” among many other things.
So Rodgers might not be too thrilled to be on “Hard Knocks,” but he will get a chance to meet the man he called ‘The Voice of God.’
