Aaron Rodgers seems to be making himself at home with the New York Jets during OTAs. The Jets poured vast resources into acquiring Rodgers via a trade with the Green Bay Packers this offseason. The team appears to be getting their money’s worth out of Rodgers. He isn’t acting shy at all around his new teammates, and a new report claims Rodgers dares to interrupt his coaches during team meetings.
Aaron Rodgers “will butt in” during New York Jets meetings
According to Rich Cimini with ESPN, a player said on the record that Rodgers feels comfortable butting in, while at the same time, an offensive coordinator he’s familiar with from his time in Green Bay, Nathaniel Hackett, tries to implement his offense with the Jets. Running back Breece Hall also said that Rodgers will go rogue and go around different players to give impromptu pop quizzes. The quizzes are important as players need to know what his hand signals mean:
“Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett leads the discussion, but he has a chatty co-pilot who likes to interject opinions, suggestions and pointed questions to his fellow players.
No, Aaron Rodgers doesn’t make a good wallflower.
“We’ll be in the meeting and Hack will be talking, then Aaron will butt in real quick,” running back Breece Hall said of the Jets’ quarterback.
Players need to pay attention because Rodgers will go around the room, quizzing players from the various position groups. He will ask a player his assignment on a particular play, then change it up by testing that same player on how he would adjust if the play gets changed at the line of scrimmage.”
“You feel that sense of calm,” Hall said, “but you also know you have to be on your stuff.”
The Jets seem to have prepared for Rodgers’ antics
It’s a good thing Hackett is familiar with Rodgers. Not every coach would be pleased with a player interrupting their meeting to chime in when they feel like it. Rodgers said last month that he prefers a football classroom where the players and coaches interact during meetings. He thinks a coach doing all the talking is “the worst thing” that can happen in a meeting.
So far, the Jets and Hackett seem fine with Rodgers acting as an assistant coach. Rodgers is a special case because the offense is really his to run. The Jets aren’t paying him nearly $50 million yearly to take a backseat. They know his success is their success. However, if losses start mounting up in the regular season, coaches aren’t going to think Rodgers interjecting extra commentary is as cute as it was in the spring.
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1 Comment
Classic Rodgers always about him