Aaron Rodgers wasn't too shy about criticizing his supposed Jets teammate, Haason Reddick.
During his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, McAfee asked Rodgers about a preseason article in The Athletic that quoted an anonymous NFL agent saying there was “confusion” surrounding the team because the Jets were treating Aaron Rodgers differently than other players.
“Just reading the headline, it appears to have been written by Haason Reddick's agent,” Rodgers said, “possibly a former agent, and an attempt to disparage our great organization.”
Redick was acquired by the Jets from the Eagles in exchange for a conditional third-round pick last offseason, but has continued to fight back for a new contract and has previously requested a trade.
In a story from The Athletic, the agent argued that Rodgers had too much power on the team and the Jets “failed to turn him into a team player,” referring to Rodgers' failure to participate in mandatory minicamp in June.
“I would say the culture here is the exact opposite of what that headline said,” Rogers said.
Rodgers then slammed all of the reports and headlines surrounding his absence from mandatory minicamp.
“When we perform like we did on Thursday, [in the Jets’ 24-3 win over the Patriots] “We're 2-1 and obviously you never know what's going to happen as the season goes on, but I think it just shows how ridiculous the offseason storylines are,” Rodgers said. “Is anyone talking about minicamp yet? Does anyone think minicamp is going to be a significant contributor to the season? The answer is no. They shouldn't, because it's not.”
Through three games, Rodgers has completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 624 yards, five touchdowns and one interception for a passer rating of 103.1.
And in defense of the team culture around him, Rodgers pointed to the offensive line carrying him.
“They've become like the bodyguards, the police, of the team, which is really, really important,” Rodgers said. “On the best teams I've been on, the line is the first to protect the team, to protect each other, to get guys off the field, to back up their guys.”
“Morgan [Moses] John, you did that for me. [Simpson] Jeff Simmons gave me a hard shoulder press in Tennessee. I was there first. [Moses]The second was John. They were both in Baltimore last year. They clearly saw something in our culture that they could stick with.”
