New detail of Aaron Rodgers move shows how little the Jets mattered to him

Aaron Rodgers hasn’t even technically signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers yet, but he’s already sending a message, and it’s not one the New York Jets will enjoy.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported on Thursday that Rodgers, who will officially be signing with the Steelers in the near future, waited to finalize his deal with the Steelers until he was ready to report to minicamp.

He reportedly wanted to avoid the “noise” he created last year when he skipped the Jets’ mandatory minicamp altogether, instead taking an overseas vacation to Egypt that sparked controversy and frustration within and outside the organization.

It may seem insignificant, but it suggests a bigger truth, that being that Rodgers already seems far more invested in his fresh start than he ever was with the Jets in 2024.

Whether intentional or not, his decision paints a stark contrast between how he’s handling his new team and how things ended in New York, and it says a lot about where the Jets ranked on his personal priority list.

Aaron Rodgers is already making the Steelers a bigger priority than the Jets

Rodgers skipping Jets minicamp last year turned into one of the defining moments of his brief, bizarre stint in New York. Instead of showing up to mandatory team activities, he chose to go on a pre-planned vacation halfway across the world.

Rodgers later defended the trip, calling it “life-changing” and insisting it had been scheduled long before minicamp was on his radar. But inside the building and across the fan base, the optics told a different story, even if the Jets insisted it wasn't a big deal.

Now compare that to what’s happening in Pittsburgh. As Breer reported, the Steelers waited patiently while Rodgers took care of personal matters this offseason. But as soon as he was ready to go, he timed his signing to align with the start of mandatory minicamp.

This wasn’t accidental. Breer noted that Rodgers wanted to avoid the “noise” that surrounded his Jets absence last year, and he’s clearly going out of his way to correct that narrative now.

Whether that’s because he feels reinvigorated in Pittsburgh or simply wants to start fresh, it’s hard to ignore the contrast. Whatever Rodgers says publicly, his actions suggest the Jets were never his priority.

In his defense, Rodgers did fight hard to return from his Achilles injury in 2023, and his desire to suit up for the Jets late in the season, even when the team was out of playoff contention, showed a real commitment to his teammates.

That effort wasn’t lost on the locker room either, as he still had plenty of supporters within the organization heading into 2024. But that’s what makes his decision to skip mandatory minicamp last year all the more frustrating.

For someone who claimed to care, he didn’t care enough to show up. And now, seeing him go out of his way to prioritize Steelers minicamp just highlights that disconnect and reinforces the idea that he was never truly all-in on New York, at least not after that first year.

In the end, Rodgers is proving he can show up when he wants to — just not for the Jets.

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