Cal Sports Report

Media Reacts to Aaron Rodgers' Minicamp Absence to Visit Egypt

TV talking heads weigh in on the issue: Is the ex-Cal quarterback's pre-planned trip to Egypt a good enough reason to miss mandatory workouts

Jake Curtis

Ex-Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Marcedes Lewis at UFC 303 in Las Vegas on June 29
Ex-Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Marcedes Lewis at UFC 303 in Las Vegas on June 29 / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
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It’s been reported that former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers was in Egypt when he missed the New York Jets’ mandatory minicamp in June. Jets head coach Robert Saleh at the time did not reveal why Rodgers was not available, but called it an “unexcused absence.”

(Connor Hughes of SNY originally reported the Egypt story, which has since been reported everywhere.)

Apparently Rodgers had arranged his trip to Egypt last fall while he was recovering from his torn Achilles tendon. It seems that his Jets' teammates were not overly concerned about Rodgers' no-show, especially since he had attended voluntary OTAs.

Rodgers’ absence required TV commentators to discuss the significance of Rodgers’ absence, and many in the media blamed Saleh for the way he addressed the issue with the media, claiming he made it a bigger issue than it needed to be.

So now the endless stream of podcast and TV talking heads must comment on whether traveling to Egypt represents an acceptable absence.

I love Plaxico Burress' rhetorical question: "Is the Egyptian culture going to help him not throw interceptions?"

A few days ago, before the reason for Rodgers' absence was reported, former NFL star receiver Torry Holt said Rodgers' absence from mandatory minicamp was unacceptable:

Rodgers has already been spotted back in the United States.

Marca reported that Rodgers and former Packers teammate Marcedes Lewis attended UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas. Rodgers’ face was shown on screen on several occasions earning cheers from the crowd. Obviously he’s not hiding.

Rodgers missed mandatory minicamp, not voluntary OTAs.

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Jake Curtis

JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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