Is Aaron Rodgers missing Jets’ mandatory mini-camp being blown out of proportion by the media?

New York sports teams are always going to have more attention than smaller markets. Since Aaron Rodgers joined the Jets last offseason, the veteran QB has received a ton of scrutiny. Rodgers has been at nearly all of the Jets offseason programs but he’s not attending their mandatory mini-camp this week. 

Yesterday, head coach Robert Saleh addressed the media when they asked him about Rodgers being absent. Saleh called it an “unexcused” absence and the media took off and ran with that. There have been mixed reports about the situation and it’s not a great look for Aaron Rodgers. Why go on this trip now? The players will surely have some time before the training camp begins. Did Rodgers make the wrong decision?

Aaron Rodgers has the media fully locked on the fact that he’s missing the mandatory mini-camp

Aaron Rodgers planned this trip when he was still rehabbing. The #Jets have known about it from the moment there was an overlap with the release of the minicamp schedule.

Rodgers is “unexcused” because you can’t excuse a trip, but not a contract dispute (Haason Reddick).…

— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) June 12, 2024

When this is all said and done, Aaron Rodgers missing mandatory mini-camp will not matter at all. However, not being present just simply isn’t a good look for the team’s veteran QB. Additionally, the way Robert Saleh handled the situation wasn’t great either. He left a lot of room for interpretation. That gave the media a chance to flip the story and make it look like Saleh was upset Rodgers was missing mini-camp. In reality, that’s not the case at all.

Rodgers had a “trip” planned months ago while he was still rehabbing from a torn Achilles. That trip overlapped with the Jets’ mandatory mini-camp this week. The veteran QB had already spoken with the team and told them he would not be attending. Yesterday, Saleh called it an “event really important to him (Rodgers)”.

Robert Saleh telling us where Aaron Rodgers is would’ve completely eliminated this as a HUGE news story https://t.co/nbPXXPEARN pic.twitter.com/n4zw6sMt9A

— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) June 12, 2024

In a few weeks, this won’t be a story at all. In about a month, NFL training camps will begin and Aaron Rodgers missing mandatory mini-camp will be a thing of the past. While the information is still relatively new, it’s a larger story than it should be. Regardless, the Jets know that Aaron Rodgers will be fully prepared for the 2024 season. Especially after the way his 2023 campaign ended. New York’s first game in 2024 is on the road vs. the 49ers on MNF. What kind of season will the Jets have one year after Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles?