Aaron Rodgers joined Boomer and Gio live at Jets training camp on Tuesday, touching on all topics from his trip to Egypt to the pressure of ending the longest active playoff drought in North American sports.
As for the latter, Rodgers sees it as something to be embraced, as the demands of New York are far better than some alternatives, such as playing in a city where mediocrity is celebrated.
“That’s the fuel…as competitors, we like to put it on the line,” Rodgers said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play for two organizations that set a standard of excellence. That’s where you want to play. You don’t want to play in a city where they’re excited to just win a few games a year.”
Of course, playing in the Big Apple means brighter spotlights off the field as well, and Rodgers has certainly been covered and, at times, criticized during his short time with the Jets, even if most of it has been spent off the field due to Achilles surgery. Now, with a new book on Rodgers soon to be released, the spotlight remains bright as ever, but Rodgers insists he doesn’t pay much mind to it.
“I will respond to that with a scale of how much I care, where ‘I don’t give s--t’ is zero and ‘care deeply about it’ is 10, and I would say it’s about a one,” Rodgers said when asked if he feels he is covered unfairly by members of the media.
Rodgers’ focus is on the upcoming season, a crucial one for the Jets after the roster was reloaded once again, and will be banking on their future Hall of Fame quarterback to stay healthy. That has come with precautions, such as Robert Saleh sitting Rodgers during joint practices with the Commanders due to weather, and likely sitting him for the entire preseason. That isn’t something Rodgers seems to have much quarrel with.
“I don’t think I need to [play preseason],” Rodgers said. “As long as I’m making the right reactions in practice…that’s important. There’s maybe a little change in speed and mindset because you can get hit, but preseason is not real football. It’s different.”
Listen to the full interview via the clip above.