Despite missing early practices with a minor calf injury, Aaron Rodgers is enjoying his first days with the New York Jets. Some have been quick to point out that an injury, however minor, is an auspicious start to the star quarterback’s next chapter, but the notoriously durable passer seemed unconcerned.
“I just tweaked my calf in a little pre-practice conditioning, so I decided to take a vet day,” Rodgers told reporters after missing Tuesday OTAs.
Rodgers went on to describe his first month with the Jets as a “dream month” and said that he enjoyed interacting with younger players in the locker room.
“Like I said, there’s a lot of excitement around here,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun to be a part of. Obviously, there’s high expectations, which is great — that’s the way you want them. But yeah, I’m definitely rejuvenated. It’s fun being in a quarterback room with young guys and guys that I really love and respect and genuinely want to improve and are eager to learn and listen (about) an offense that I know really, really well.”
The longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback left for New York in April following a trade in which the Jets gave the Packers for first-, second- and fifth-round picks in 2023, as well as a conditional second-round pick in 2024. New York also received Green Bay’s first- and fifth-round picks in 2023 through the trade.
Despite rumored beef between Rodgers and former starting quarterback Zach Wilson, the 10-time Pro-Bowler mentioned Wilson as a key member of a “fun” quarterback room that has been learning the offense with new offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been a lot of fun,” Rodgers said. “I haven’t been to OTAs in the last couple years, so it’s nice to kind of be out here, be out in meetings, speak up about certain things – adjustments in the offense and additional coaching points. Obviously got a long history with Nathaniel so he gives me a lot of latitude to speak up in the meetings. An opportunity to help out Zach and Tim (Boyle) and Chris (Streveler) and the room is a lot of fun.”
