NFL Insider Reveals Jets QB Aaron Rodgers' Reaction To Unexcused Absence

An NFL insider has revealed Aaron Rodgers' reaction to the New York Jets calling his absence unexcused.

Dec 17, 2023; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) looks on from the sideline against the Miami Dolphins during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets have found themselves in the NFL drama mill once again. Training camp hasn't even arrived and the media is running wild with a story surrounding superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers, the face of the franchise, chose not to show up to mandatory minicap. The reason for his absence was due to the fact that he was attending another event that was important to him.

While head coach Robert Saleh and many Jets teammates were supportive of the 40-year-old quarterback, the franchise did call the absence "unexcused."

Since the story broke, the media has gone to extreme lengths. One writer even suggested that New York should look to replace Rodgers with current Dallas Cowboys' star quarterback Dak Prescott next offseason.

One NFL insider has now reported on Rodgers' reaction to the team calling his absence "unexcused." It doesn't seem that he has much of a problem with it.

"I did a little more digging over the past few days. What more I could ascertain was how the Jets and Rodgers reached an understanding of the 'one team, one set of rules' logic to not excusing his leave. Rodgers, I’m told, was good with it."

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk asked an interesting question.

Why didn't the Jets simply change the dates of mandatory minicamp so that Rodgers could attend?

Albert Breer, the insider who revealed the future Hall of Famer's reaction to the absence, stated why the dates remained the same.

"And while, yes, the Jets could've moved minicamp up a week, the staff didn't want to do that because generally having a mandatory minicamp a week before the end of the offseason program essentially green-lights everyone taking the last week of voluntary work off. Which might mean more guys who need the work a lot more than Rodgers does cutting a week off their offseason programs, which would be worse than one guy missing, even if that one guy is Rodgers, because Rodgers wouldn't be there that week anyway."

With all of that being said, the story ends up being much ado about nothing.

Many veteran quarterbacks have skipped mandatory minicamps. Training camp absences are a much bigger deal that OTA's. Rodgers himself has skipped many mandatory minicamps throughout his career and has been just fine.

Both the franchise and the quarterback are on the same page.

The real story can end right there.

Granted, the media absolutely loves to rip into Rodgers. That has been the case for quite some time. But, this has hit a ridiculous level of exposure over a situation that has clearly been handled internally.

Thankfully, New York and Rodgers do not need to ride the media wave. They'll pick up where they left off when training camp arrives.