Aaron Rodgers has been on a journey of recovery, which includes traveling to various places that call for him. But when he skipped the New York Jets’ mandatory minicamp for a trip to Egypt, it didn’t sit right with everyone. Among those raising eyebrows was Jets superfan Rich Eisen, who compared the situation to the Lakers draft of LeBron James’ son, Bronny.
Advertisement
On the Rich Eisen Show, the host explained that while he understands why Robert Saleh, the Jets’ head coach, labeled Rodgers’ absence as unexcused, he sees it as a strategic move to keep a key player happy. But, he wrapped it up by pointing out how “weird” the whole situation is. He compared the situation to the Lakers drafting Bronny to allegedly make LeBron happy, saying,
“You’re helping make employee number one a lot happier in his dotage years, in the remaining window of chance for you and the franchise to win it all together.”
He argued that this could have been easily avoided with a bit of better planning. Just like the Lakers might consider drafting Bronny James to keep LeBron happy, the Jets could have made a small concession to keep Rodgers content in his final years.
Rich Eisen Sheds Light on How Jets Could Have Avoided the Media Scrutiny on QB Aaron Rodgers
Eisen added that in his eyes the New York Jets could have dodged the media circus surrounding Aaron Rodgers’ decision to skip the minicamp for a trip to Egypt. According to Eisen, this whole situation was avoidable with a little more foresight, sparing the team from unnecessary scrutiny.
He explained that if the Jets knew about Rodgers’ plans well in advance, they could have easily sidestepped the media storm by reshuffling the minicamp schedule.
“If the Jets knew that he had an experience in Egypt planned for that week as long as Rodgers had previously said…then just tag the previous week where Rodgers was going to be there as the mandatory week.”
However, the fact that the final two days Rodgers missed were more of a casual event was only a classic case of miscommunication that spiraled into a media frenzy. For the returning QB, minicamps were intense affairs with multiple practices over a weekend. However, these days, they’re much more relaxed, and Eisen believes that Rodgers’ absence shouldn’t have been such a big deal.
