It seems like every few months fans are overloaded with another Aaron Rodgers story that has little to do with football. The MVP quarterback had to recently deny that the Sandy Hook School shooting was a “government inside job” after an article emerged on CNN from journalist Pamela Brown claiming Rodgers made remarks along those lines.
This is not the first time that Aaron Rodgers’ off-field conduct has come in the way of football and preparing for a season. The talented quarterback is about to entire his 20th year in the NFL and drama continues to follow him wherever he goes. Rodgers strong views have made him a polarizing figure in the game and as the New York Jets prepare to bounce back after a difficult season, the questions has to be asked if his off-field issues are becoming a problem for the franchise.
Rodgers has made his views on the COVID-19 vaccine clear in the past going. He made headlines during the 2021 season when he mislead the media by stating he was “immunized” during an NFL press conference. That caused a a media circus around the team during the later stages of the season.
Earlier this year, Rodgers was caught up in a back and forth with television host Jimmy Kimmel over comments he made on the Pat McAfee Show about Kimmel appearing in the controversial Epstein documents.
After a successful 18-year career with the Green Bay Packers that saw Rodgers named the NFL’s MVP on four occassions and win a Super Bowl, the Jets saw an opportunity to lock in a franchise quarterback. New York has invested big with the hopes that Rodgers could replicate similar success with a team that has struggled in recent years. That, however, has not turned out to be the case.
An achilles injury in the first quarter of the opening game of the season means Rodgers has played just four snaps for the organization. The Jets finished third in the AFC East with an unimpressive 7-10 record.
This year, the organization will be hoping the quarterback can bounce back and guide them to their first playoff appearance since 2010. So far, however, it has just a series of off-field distractions from the 40-year-old who was expected to lead by example.
