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Come Fan with UsThursday, August 6, 2026

Aaron Rodgers’ no-show at Jets minicamp fits his pattern

Aaron Rodgers has finally removed distractions from the Jets’ building by not showing up to work.

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New York Jets OTA Offseason Workouts
New York Jets OTA Offseason Workouts
Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images

Back in January, New York Jets’ QB Aaron Rodgers told the Pat McAfee show that the Jets needed to avoid all distractions. “The ******* that has nothing to do with winning has to get out of the building.”

Well, it looks like Rodgers might’ve finally found said stuff that has nothing to do with winning.

Don’t you just love when your 41-year-old QB chooses to skip mandatory minicamp not because of a contract dispute, but because he, in the words of Spongebob, “didn’t really feel like it”? That’s the leader every locker room needs, the kind of guy who you can really rally behind.

The real question is: what’s Aaron Rodgers doing that’s keeping him away from football? I mean it has to be something so extremely important that it takes priority over minicamp. Maybe he’s starting a podcast with Joe Rogan. Maybe he’ll pop back up announcing that he’s funding a three-day retreat into the Andes mountains to get high on mushrooms scientists haven’t even found yet. Or, he’s preparing for another run in politics, with the election coming up as well.

In all seriousness, while this might all end up being nothing, the way that news is being reported out of Jets camp about Rodgers’ absence is...interesting to say the least. ESPN’s Rich Cimini first reported that Rodgers wouldn’t be at minicamp, and would be subject to fines, but with the full Saleh quote provided below, it seems as though Rodgers and Saleh have been in communication on this absence months ago.

By the way: per Ballotpedia, although the filing to run for president as an independent requires 45,000 signatures and that was needed by May 28, BUT in New Jersey where the Jets are technically located, you only need 800 signatures...by July 29. So if Rodgers’ big event that was very important to him. Maybe that’s a rescheduled Republican Primary debate, who knows.

At least the distraction is out of the building.

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