Not even Aaron Rodgers can stop the Patriots from picking the Jets.
In fact, former Patriots great Julian Edelman specifically targeted Rodgers as the latest critic of the future Hall of Fame quarterback’s decision to miss mandatory minicamp from June 11-13.
Rodgers’ absence due to undisclosed prior commitments was excused by the team.
“I think it’s a bad look for a leader to miss truancy for any reason,” Edelman said Friday on FS1’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” “I was with Tom Brady when I was in grade 25 or 23, and he started going missing. [voluntary] There were OTAs here and there, but he never missed a mandatory minicamp. “I just thought you had a bad expression.”
Brady’s analogy isn’t perfect. That’s because Brady missed 11 days of training camp, which is far more important to his preparation than minicamp, for unspecified reasons ahead of his final season with the Buccaneers in 2022.
Brady and his then-wife Gisele Bündchen divorced later that year.
Rodgers took a different approach to spring practice by attending voluntary OTAs, ensuring he still had reps while returning from a torn Achilles tendon in the 2023 season opener.
The drills and no-contact rules used for OTAs and minicamps are very similar, with the key difference being that missing a required workout will result in a team-imposed penalty.
“I’m a huge fan of Aaron Rodgers.” Edelman said. “But if I was in that locker room and Aaron Rodgers wasn’t there for three days of mandatory minicamp, it was because he played four snaps due to an injury when we had an injury.” new receiver [and] We added a bunch of new linemen to the team with a CBA that doesn’t allow them to practice much? There’s four or five guys in the locker room – six, seven, eight, nine – sitting there going, ‘Where’s that guy?’
Although rumors are swirling, it is not publicly known where Rodgers has been. He shared that with the Jets.
The Jets might have forgiven Rodgers’ absence under normal circumstances, such as a family commitment such as a birth or death.
“I know a lot of people do things differently,” Edelman said. “But God forbid the New York Jets get off to a 1-3 start to the season. They start with the Niners, Tennessee, Patriots and other teams. We all know the Patriots aren’t good, but their defense is still the same. [tough] Defense, and that’s who Aaron is against.
“If we go 1-3, it will be a huge disruption to the locker room. Because everyone will be talking about it. This is New York City. “This is the media capital of the world.”
