New York Jets fans have some real lofty expectations for their team. Jets coaches and players also believe this year will be different than the past 13 which have seen them miss the playoffs.
The biggest reasons for that are a dominant defense and the play of four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers leading the way under center. Rodgers, who played just a few downs in 2023 before tearing his Achilles, has been considered the savior since his arrival in April 2023.
Despite his longtime stellar play on the gridiron, Rodgers doesn’t come without baggage. His style of leadership and distant demeanor with teammates have long been questioned by talking heads.
That didn’t stop the Jets, who haven’t a serviceable quarterback since Mark Sanchez back in 2009 and 2010 when he helped lead the team to back-to-back AFC Championship games, from trading for Rodgers.
Rodgers Self-Centered?
Rodgers’ self-centered and selfish ways have been a talking point since his days in Green Bay, where many times he displayed the attitude of when we win I’ll gladly take the credit, but when we lose separate me from the criticism. That hasn’t been the case much in New York with the Jets only because he was injured. He skipped Jets mandatory minicamp in June, and at the time head coach Robert Saleh said the absence was deemed unexcused.
Upon return from his torn Achilles, Rodgers opted to spend time sipping ayahuasca as he apparently seeked a psychedelic journey.
That type of stuff has seemingly rubbed former Jets head coach Eric off Mangini the wrong way, and he recently voiced his opinion of Rodgers during an appearance on FS1’s “First Things First.”
“The thing that you’re talking about is the greater good, and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about the other ten guys. He cares about himself. And with Tom Brady, Tom was coachable. Tom wanted to be coached, and even though Tom was the greatest at the position, he was open to ideas that could make him better. But for Aaron, he’s just going to do whatever he wants to do, whatever is best for him — you other 10 guys, it’s not good for you, not good for the coaching staff, not good for anybody else. It doesn’t matter, because it’s just about him.”
Mangini has some serious skeletons in his closet himself, but he isn’t the first to call out Rodgers for self-absorbed ways. But the one part that’s not really feasible is him expecting a 40-year-old QB coming off a torn Achilles to play in the preseason when most starters don’t play at all.
Shaun King Was Also Unrelenting In His Opinion Of Rodgers
In many ways Rodgers holds the keys to the Jets future.
With the aforementioned Saleh on one of the hottest seats entering 2024, having a healthy and engaged Rodgers could go a long way in determining if ownership sees fit to bring him back for another season. Former NFL quarterback Shaun King, who was one of the most humble guys you’ll find, was recently talking heavy on the “Go Long” podcast.
“He’s become one of the most self-centered quarterbacks of my generation,” King said.
“Being so selfish that you can’t reschedule that one that a mandatory minicamp where you know there’s going to be a lot of media because you’re in New York? You know you are not going to put your head coach and your organization in a difficult spot because now they’ve got to answer questions about why you are not here? … It was just selfish of him, because he’s known what this date was,” King added.
This has long been Rodgers MO, so don’t expect him to change his ways, especially at the tail end of his career. A tiger doesn’t change its stripes, so don’t expect him to.
