Keyshawn Johnson: Aaron Rodgers Quit, Took His Ball and Went Home

Rodgers left a game trailing 40-0 and Johnson didn't like it.

Keyshawn Johnson didn't like Aaron Rodgers taking himself out of a 40-0 game. / Speak on X

Aaron Rodgers's second season with the New York Jets, like the first, did not go expected. Gang Green is 4-12, leaking oil and sputtering to the finish line in a season that's been heavy on drama and light on winning. Rock bottom may have been last Sunday, when Rodgers instigated his own benching in the fourth quarter while trailing 40-0 to the Buffalo Bills.

Some might suggest Rodgers is 40 years old and doesn't necessarily need the reps in lost cause garbage time amid a lost cause season. Others might view that is abandoning the team on some level and not the type of action a team leader should take.

Keyshawn Johnson finds himself in the latter camp and let his feelings be known on Monday's Speak.

"You decided to take your ball and go home because you wasn't getting your way," Johnson surmised.

After it was pointed out that Rodgers did not go home and, in fact, stayed in the sidelines, Johnson did not seem interested in splitting hairs.

"What's the difference between him and the dude in San Francisco?" Johnson asked. "You quit on your team, man. I'm not going to be nice to Aaron Rodgers."

The reference was to De'Vondre Campbell, who refused to take the field for the 49ers against the Los Angeles Rams back on Dec. 19. Without trying too hard, one can come up with some major differences in the situations—most namely time, score and status in the league.

.@Keyshawn: Aaron Rodgers quit!

"He decided to take his ball and go home because he wasn't getting his way." pic.twitter.com/Muijiu66Fs

— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) December 31, 2024

Johnson also couldn't square the circle on why Rodgers would do this while trying to convince the Jets that he should be in their plans next year.

"I thought he was on a mission to convince them that he should come back," Johnson added. "Based on what he did yesterday, I don't want to be anywhere near him."

It's pointed criticism, though far from the strongest Rodgers faces daily from any blaring television set or internet connection. Considering all that the franchise has rode through the past two years it would be surprising if not playing in a 40-0 blowout was the thing that broke the levee but stranger things have happened.

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