“Egypt Couldn’t Wait 2 Days”: Aaron Rodgers’ Communication Failure Faces Severe Backlash From Ex-NFLer as Jets QB Returns to US

Things are going as expected. What “things” you might ask? The reception of Aaron Rodgers by the media after his Egypt escapade. The media is not taking kindly to it at all! But how much is Rodgers at fault? It’s not Aaron Rodgers’ absence that is an eyesore for the NFL world, rather it’s the optics of it.

The hosts of SPEAK decided to pick up on the conversation and TJ Houshmandzadeh gave his spin on Rodgers ‘unexcused’ absence. The ex-NFL wide receiver cited how other people on the Jets’ roster might follow in Rodgers’ footsteps and it sets a bad leadership example in the locker room. Moreover, the Jets’ QB didn’t negotiate with Robert Saleh about the possible cancellation of the last day of the mandatory minicamp.

“Ain’t no way he should have missed. No way. Like, especially, you going to Egypt? You couldn’t go to Egypt after the minicamp? Like, you couldn’t wait two days?” said Houshmandzadeh.

He further added to the criticism by pointing out,  “I like Aaron Rodgers. I do. I like him. If you would have told Robert Saleh, ‘Hey, I need to go to Egypt, I’m going to come to this minicamp, but can we cancel the last day? You couldn’t go to Egypt two days later? Because he would have cancelled the last day.”

It just so happens that Saleh’ cancelled Gang Green’s mandatory minicamp (June 13-15, 2023) because the New York Jets were hosting a Pro Football Hall of Fame against the Cleveland Browns in the preseason. On June 6, 2023, Saleh spoke to media about cutting some slack to the Jets because they’ve been practicing hard for 9 weeks of springtime OTAs.

“We’ve been here, they’ve put in a really good off-season, all the guys have since April,” said Saleh prior to a June 6, 2023 OTAs practice. “Just to give the guys an extra week to go take their break because you need a week off and then you got to rev back up to get ready for the season.”

There’s a possibility that Rodgers and the squad might have gotten the same relief this year. There’s a narrative going around that Rodgers talked to Saleh and the rest of the front office about his absence at the last moment. However, to his defense, he thought that his trip was scheduled well after Jets’ off season training camp.

But matters got even worse after the QB returned to USA after his trip to The Land of Pharaohs.

Can Aaron Rodgers not read the room?

The Jets’ QB and 4x MVP came back but with all eyes on him and as soon as fans and media knew about his Egypt holiday, they were on to him. To make matters even worse, the QB was spotted in the T-Mobile Arena at Las Vegas attending the UFC 303 to watch Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka exchange blows. There’s no denying that fact that the “optics” of the whole situation aren’t pleasing to witness.

On one hand Rodgers has players counting on him to show them the ropes of the season and on the other, some players on the roster are defending Rodgers as if his absence was no big deal and that the training went fine, anyway. Sauce Gardner was among a few people that retaliated the negative audibles about Rodgers’ absence.

The Jets CB took to X and pointed out, “Are y’all really making a big deal because a 15+ year HOF QB missed 2 days of practice after being with the team all throughout Phase 1, 2, & 3 of OTA’s?? GG’s.” Maybe the fans and media are making a mountain out of a molehill. And speaking of support, one thing that’s a remiss is the fact that Robert Saleh had “no issues” with Rodgers absence, as he pointed out at the time when the QBs absence became a headline.

“Aaron and I are on the exact same page,” Saleh said in a media conference. “There’s no issue between Aaron, or his teammates, for that matter. We addressed it yesterday; it’s more of an issue for everyone outside of the building than it is inside. That’s about it.”

Consider this for a second. This is Rodgers’ 20 season in the NFL and he’s been through countless “mandatory training camps.” Doesn’t he get the benefit of the doubt of possibly knowing what goes on in the training? Or is it just the fact that people always find something as an excuse to poke and prod at others? There’s always two sides to a coin. Yes, again, the “optics” do look bad, but if the Jets have a powerful start to the season, would most people forget about his absence?

What do you think about the whole ‘unexcused’ absence debacle?