Aaron Rodgers Praised for Coaching Teammates at Jets Camp

The New York Jets participated in their first training camp practice in 2024 on Wednesday, July 24.

Several times in the middle of practice, Aaron Rodgers pulled his teammates aside for some extra coaching.

“With Malachi [Corley], he’s a great kid, he really is. He cares about it and wants to be great. It’s just a little reminder when we are running a certain route in the 3-by-1 and he has a vertical, if he has inside leverage already he can just push straight up and the ball is going to be on him. It’s like a reminder I might not have been in on the play but I’m watching the play and if we run the exact same play and you’re in there, this is what I need from you,” Rodgers explained to the media. “So it’s just getting on the same page as those guys and I think that is an important part of being a professional. If you aren’t in, you’re still taking a mental rep. As a quarterback if I’m not taking that rep, I still gotta let these guys know if I was in there this may have happened … If there was a situation where you could have gotten the ball, his angle was way too flat. You gotta be vertical and be expecting the ball on your back shoulder. I’m just going to stay on those guys and coach ’em up as much as I can. They’ve got a great coach though, I love having SJ [Shawn Jefferson] here.”

Jets Players and Coaches Love Seeing Rodgers Doing the Extra Stuff

Head coach Robert Saleh said Rodgers is “another coach on the football field” and players would be “silly” not to listen to what he has to say and the insight that he shares.

“He is one of the more accomplished players in the history of football. If he has a nugget to give you, if I was a young guy I’d write it down in my notebook and remember it for the rest of my life,” Saleh added.

It makes sense that Rodgers would talk to players on the offensive side of the ball and try to get on the same page. However, Rodgers isn’t afraid to stop in the middle of practice to go to the other side of the ball to share some commentary.

“One thing about Aaron bro, he don’t mind stopping in the middle of practice and things like that. ‘Like hey, let me talk to you real quick. Let me show you the reason why I threw that and let me also work with you on this.’ Let’s be honest he’s a gold jacket type quarterback, so anything he say I’m taking it into consideration on my game,” Jets linebacker Quincy Williams said on Wednesday, July 24. “It also helps us during the game time like alright if Aaron is seeing this then I know for a fact these quarterbacks are going to see it too. So it makes us better also.”

Final Nail in the Sarcophagus on the Rodgers-Egypt Story

There was a lot of hubbub made when Rodgers skipped the Jets’ two-day mandatory minicamp in June. It was a topic of conversation on national sports shows across America for the last several weeks.

Rodgers broke his silence on the subject matter during an appearance on “Pardon My Take” last week at the Lake Tahoe golf event, but Wednesday, July 24 was his first opportunity to address the local media about the subject matter.

The remaining question about the trip is why did it have to happen at the same time as a Jets scheduled event and why he didn’t move the trip once he realized there was a conflict.

Rodgers admitted that he scheduled this Egyptian vacation last year during his rehab from a torn Achilles. When he was considering when to do it, Rodgers said he referenced the Jets’ mandatory minicamp schedule from the year prior and figured it would be right around that time.

However, when the schedule came out this offseason he realized that the minicamp wasn’t on the same dates that they were the year before and he attempted to move his trip but, “it didn’t happen.”

Rodgers confirmed that he was fined for skipping the minicamp. Rich Cimini of ESPN asked if it was the mandatory $50,000 price tag. Rodgers said, “It might have been a little more than that” with a chuckle.

“I made it a point to be at every OTA, I was at the physical day as part of the minicamp, [and] I missed the two practices. I had talks with all of my teammates about it, I think they understood. It was more of an issue outside of the building than it was inside the building. Robert and I are great. We had great conversations throughout the offseason … I’m an adult, I knew what I was getting into. I knew the fine that was coming and also I knew how much I wanted to be in Egypt. I wish there hadn’t been a conflict scheduling wise but it was what it was,” Rodgers said.