Aaron Rodgers made waves in June when he announced that he would not be attending the New York Jets’ mandatory minicamp. This led to head coach Robert Saleh calling his absence “unexcused.” The reason behind Rodgers’ decision to skip the minicamp was finally revealed: he had planned a trip to Egypt, as reported by SNY.
At 40 years old and a former NFL MVP, Rodgers had always been fascinated by Egyptian culture, and this trip was something he had long dreamed of. Despite believing that the Jets’ offseason program would be completed before he left for Egypt, the team only found out about the scheduling overlap when the minicamp dates were finalized.
Saleh had told reporters about Rodgers’ unexplained absence at the beginning of the minicamp, citing it as a personal event of importance. However, team owner Woody Johnson played down the situation by emphasizing that Rodgers had been present at almost all of New York’s voluntary spring workouts prior to the minicamp.
Several Jets players have expressed that they had no issues with Rodgers missing minicamp, highlighting his participation in organized team activities as well. The Jets’ decision to announce Rodgers’ absence in this way was possibly to prevent a precedent of players missing mandatory workouts for pre-planned trips. Nevertheless, it is expected that Rodgers will return for the start of the 2024 training camp, with rookies scheduled to report on July 18 and veterans on July 23.
