Former NFL quarterback and one-time Super Bowl champion Shaun King has a problem with how New York Jets starter Aaron Rodgers skipped the club's two-day mandatory minicamp as an unexcused absence earlier this month.
"He’s become one of the most selfish and self-centered quarterbacks of my generation," King said about Rodgers during a recent edition of the "Go Long" podcast, as shared by Todderick Hunt of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com.
Rodgers attended voluntary workouts throughout the spring but reportedly told individuals such as head coach Robert Saleh before the team's mandatory minicamp dates were confirmed that he had an event/"vacation" scheduled for those days.
Teammates such as cornerback D.J. Reed and running back Breece Hall defended Rodgers and indicated his missing minicamp was "not a big deal" considering the 40-year-old already knows the system run by Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
However, Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe blasted Rodgers earlier this week for wanting "to be somewhere else" while other players were working at the team's facility during mandatory minicamp.
King agreed with Sharpe, in part because it's hardly a secret that Jets owner Woody Johnson could part ways with Saleh, general manager Joe Douglas and maybe even Rodgers if New York fails to end the longest active playoff drought among the four major North American sports leagues in January.
"Being so selfish that you can’t reschedule that other thing to be at mandatory minicamp where you know there’s going to be a lot of media because you’re in New York? You know you are going to put your head coach and your organization in a difficult spot because now they’ve got to answer questions about why you are not here," King added. "... It just was selfish of him because he’s known what this date was."
Rodgers' June whereabouts ultimately won't matter if he returns to an MVP-caliber level coming off the torn Achilles he suffered this past September and guides Gang Green to at least a postseason berth.
If nothing else, it seems he will continue to generate headlines for reasons unrelated to his on-the-field accomplishments throughout his second season with the Jets.
