Ever since Aaron Rodgers joined the New York Jets, his stint with the Woody Allen-owned team couldn’t have gone any worse. While he missed the entirety of his first season thanks to an Achilles injury, expectations for the 2024 season were high for the Super Bowl-winning QB, partly due to his own words. Unfortunately, things have started poorly once again, and this has resulted in what appears to be Woody Johnson posting training footage of Rodgers as damage control.
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The misery for Rodgers began this season when news first emerged of the QB gunning for a Vice President spot in the cabinet of the controversial RFK Jr. Things then got from bad to worse when CNN exposed the QB for propagating false Sandy Hook conspiracy theories, which were later debunked.
However, these two controversies emerged in quick succession and attracted a lot of unwanted attention to the team. But like every news, the dust settled here too, until Rodgers decided not to attend the mandatory minicamp for personal reasons.
What made things worse was when Jets HC Robert Saleh termed the QB’s absence “inexcusable”. This opened Pandora’s box, and the QB has been on the receiving end of widespread criticism since, with many questioning if he is even serious about the game anymore.
Such immense negativity before the start of a campaign is not ideal. Therefore, Jets owner Woody Allen, in a potential bid to calm the critics yesterday, posted training footage of Rodgers and captioned it, “[Aaron Rodgers] looked as good as ever this spring.”
.@AaronRodgers12 looked as good as ever this spring pic.twitter.com/kpCFJv7VsD
— Woody Johnson (@woodyjohnson4) June 20, 2024
In the video, the former Packers legend is seen completing a few long-range passes while maintaining impeccable mobility. The highlight of the footage was a no-look pass by the QB. However, while the video did serve its purpose of proving Rodgers’ apex conditioning, it still couldn’t solve the main concern of fans — Rodgers’ off-field controversies.
Netizens Troll Woody Johnson Over His Damage Control Aaron Rodgers Training Footage
Fans quickly realized that this 2-minute and 44-second long footage from Woody Johnson was nothing but a damage control tactic. Therefore, they promptly flocked to the comments to add their two cents.
While the majority called out Johnson for his damage-control tactics, considering it’s quite normal for a QB to complete a few passes, others’ comments reeked with sarcasm. One such fan wrote, “You think the ayahuasca has helped him with the no look passes?”
You think the ayahuasca has helped him with the no look passes ?
— Thigh Doctor (@ThighDoctor) June 20, 2024
NFL QB can complete some passes in practice … color me impressed. Clearly “as good as ever.”
— racquetman (@racquetman75) June 20, 2024
You guys have been posting this same pass since it was made god knows how long ago
— Tone (@ToneFromQueens) June 20, 2024
Congratulations on yet another pre-season Super Bowl!!!
— Sporting Some Sarcasm (@thesportsgenius) June 20, 2024
Other netizens noted that it’s easy to look good when there is no one rushing Rodgers. They, thus, urged fellow Jets fans not to be fooled by the mobility displayed by Rodgers in the video.
Just wait until he gets back to facing a real defense. His mobility will be his issue. Not his arm.
— (@GilcoGames) June 20, 2024
Oh wow! No pass rush! Yeah he looks great… Let’s hope he can move around in the games especially against the 49ers on Monday night? …
— Dusty (@Dusty9154510451) June 21, 2024
That said, the pressure on Rodgers to perform has never been more intense. With age catching up, a stature to maintain, and to satisfy a fanbase that has been patient for more than a decade, the bare minimum for Rodgers this season would be to maintain his 2022 performance where he threw for 3,695 passing yards and 26 touchdowns. It will be interesting to see how Rodgers tackles perhaps the toughest season of his career.
