Did the Jets mishandle the Rodgers Absence?

Edition #650

Good morning! ☕

Unfortunately the Jets can’t seem to get out of their own way when it comes to handling certain situations and certain information. On Tuesday it was revealed that Aaron Rodgers would be missing mandatory minicamp and it was largely left right there, and there lays the problem.

We’re going to have a look at that situation today, but first as always we’re going to hit those quick throws. If you’re a daily reader of TJW then please hit that subscribe button above, only around 35% of our daily readers subscribe and I’m hoping to get that number closer to 50% before the season starts.

🟢 Jets QB1 for minicamp Tyrod Taylor spoke about his first session as the starter: "I think it was competitive," Taylor said of Tuesday's session. "I think we did some good things, but there's always stuff to clean up. Overall, I like the way the guys came out and competed. There's always room for improvement. You'll never hear me say, 'Oh this was great. On to the next.' Even in blowout wins and days the offense dominates the field, there are opportunities to get better. That's how you have to look at it, with a critical eye. We'll continue to keep doing that and continue to keep sharpening the sword as we head into training camp."

⚪ Robert Saleh had some comments on Taylor too - "He's been fantastic," Saleh said. "Elite human, elite leader. The speed at which he's grasping the offense has been pretty cool. He's calling two-minute [offense] already. He's going to get another opportunity today and tomorrow to do the same thing. Really appreciate the dialogue that we've all been able to have with him."

🟢 PFF posted an All Break-Out team ahead of the 2024 season and they listed Joe Tippmann as the centre who’s about to break out - “It’s far from ideal for a rookie center to go from having a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Aaron Rodgers to an uncontained mess at the position, as Tippmann experienced last year after Rodgers' season-ending injury. There were some real positives for the second-round draft pick, though, as he finished his debut campaign with a 67.4 PFF run-blocking grade, which ranked second among all rookie interior offensive linemen.” I was also expecting to see Will McDonald on that list, but not this time.

⚪ The 33rd Team posted an article which outlined the 10 best rookie defensive seasons of all time and they had Sauce Gardner at #8 - “There have been many tremendous rookie cornerbacks throughout the last 57 seasons, but the advancement of player tracking and contextualized performance has made it easier to see how well individuals perform beyond interceptions. While Marcus Peters, Marshon Lattimore, and Darrell Revis were fantastic in their rookie campaigns, Sauce Gardner was more dominant on a play-by-play basis in 2022. Gardner became the first rookie corner to make first-team All-Pro since Ronnie Lott in 1981. He allowed only 54 yards in man coverage in 18 games, led the NFL with 20 pass breakups, totaled 75 tackles and two interceptions. His blend of length, physicality, and ball skills immediately translated from college, and his 62.3 quarterback rating allowed (1,115 snaps) put him in all-time consideration for single-season impact.”

🟢 D.J. Reed confirmed that there have been no talks on a contract extension with the Jets so far and that the ball is in there court. He confirmed he loves playing here but that he would look forward to free agency if it got that far. Either way, D.J. Reed is going to get paid one way or the other.

⚪ Robert Saleh singled rookie Olu Fashanu out for praise today, saying he was highlighted in the team meeting yesterday after they reviewed the tape. That's always good to hear of any players but especially a first round pick.

🟢 It was another positive day for rookie CB Stiggers today as he had a INT on my guy Peasley and later locked down Allen Lazard, who had a TD today and apparently looked much better.

It takes a lot for a 4 time MVP and Super Bowl champions to overstay his welcome in a city where he helped the team lift just their second championship since the late 60’s, but that’s exactly what Aaron Rodgers did in Green Bay.

Now he’s back in the news for missing Jets mandatory minicamp which Saleh called an “unexcused absence” - Strangely, the media in attendance didn’t ask for clarity on the event that would keep Rodgers away from the first portion of the off-season that’s actually mandatory, and the Jets weren’t forthcoming with the information either.