Aaron Rodgers' former teammate reveals where Jets QB went on offseason trip after blowing off mandatory minicamp
When you're the face of a New York franchise, all eyes are trained on you. Aaron Rodgers learned that the hard way after missing mandatory minicamp with the New York Jets earlier this month.
The four-time NFL MVP's presence was naturally anticipated at minicamp, owing to the 'mandatory' tag. However, The Athletic's Diana Russini reported that Rodgers preferred to be elsewhere, away from football.
According to his former teammate Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Rodgers is back from his summer trip to Egypt.
Scantling appeared on "The Herd" on FS1 this week to talk about his offseason when Rodgers' name came up.
Scantling said:
"Me and Aaron have been great friends since I had been in Green Bay. I hit him up, told him I was coming out to LA, and said, ‘Let’s run some routes together.' It was good."
Valdes-Scantling added that the pair went out to "some high school" and ran routes together.
McIntyre said that he spoke to Valdes-Scantling during a commercial break and got some info on Rodgers' offseason whereabouts.
“All the New York media can stand down. Aaron Rodgers is back from Egypt! It’s not a secret anymore!” McIntyre said.
Aaron Rodgers' unexcused absence from mandatory minicamp turns into media circus
You can't go missing in the middle of the offseason and not have New York media turn it into a major storyline.
Aaron Rodgers surely knows that now.
Since his absence was an unexcused one, Rodgers will likely incur a fine of just over $50,000 for missing three days of mandatory minicamp.
Naturally, Rodgers' antics drew a range of takes from NFL media.
Let's start with Patriots legend Julian Edelman. Edelman appeared on the same show as Marquez Valdes-Scantling - "The Herd" - with Colin Cowherd to give his two cents on the whole Aaron Rodgers drama.
Edelman said:
"I know a lot of people do things differently. But god forbid the New York Jets start 1-3 in the beginning of the season – they start with the Niners, Tennessee, the Patriots [and the Broncos] – if they go 1-3, this is going to be such a big distraction for that locker room because everyone’s going to be talking about it."
Edelman put an exclamation point on that take by saying that Rodgers' absence was a 'bad look' and that Tom Brady never missed mandatory minicamp in 23 during his glorious tenure with the Patriots.