Aaron Rodgers' minicamp absence is a 'big distraction' according to former NY Jets rival

NY Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been the subject of significant criticism over the last few days following his decision to forego mandatory minicamp in favor of an unspecified "trip."

The latest to hop aboard the Rodgers hate bandwagon is former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman. No one should be surprised that Edelman, a longtime Jets rival, had some negative thoughts to share about New York's current quarterback during a recent appearance on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd."

Edelman blasted Rodgers for the "distraction" he's causing his organization, saying it's a "bad look" for Rodgers not to be in attendance. The three-time Super Bowl champion went on to compare Rodgers to his former quarterback, Tom Brady, insisting that Brady would never do such a thing.

"I think it’s a bad look for your leader, for whatever reason, to go and miss an unexcused absence. I was with Tom Brady in his 25th year or 23rd year, and he started missing OTAs here and there, but he never missed a mandatory minicamp. I just thought it was a bad look."

Julian Edelman

Edelman is right about one thing — Brady never missed mandatory minicamp. He did, however, routinely miss OTAs, something Rodgers hasn't done with the Jets, and notably took 11 days off during training camp in 2022 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Yes, Brady never missed mandatory minicamp, but he did miss nearly two weeks of mandatory training camp in July. Don't let facts get in the way of bias, though.

Aaron Rodgers continues to be blasted for his insignificant minicamp absence

Where was this outrage when Brady inexplicably missed 11 days during training camp two years ago? It's almost as if the two players are held to different standards (because they are).

Rodgers informed the Jets ahead of time that he would not be able to attend minicamp this year. He showed up for every possible voluntary event of the offseason. Missing two padless practices in the middle of June is going to have zero bearing on the success (or lack thereof) of the Jets in 2024.

Would the Jets have preferred to have Rodgers, and fellow absentee Haason Reddick, in attendance for minicamp? Of course. But by all accounts, no one who matters cares. His coaches don't care and his teammates don't care. Sauce Gardner even took to social media to defend Rodgers last week.

But we all know how this stuff goes. This is Aaron Rodgers we're talking about. It's the Jets in the middle of June. Stories like this are always going to be significantly blown out of proportion because Rodgers and the Jets are easy targets and there's nothing else to discuss this time of the year.

I promise, Aaron Rodgers' mid-June absence isn't going to affect the Jets come September (or July for that matter). Let Edelman and others spew their hypocritical takes now — they aren't going to matter in a few weeks.