Aaron Rodgers made headlines in June when he decided to skip the New York Jets’ mandatory minicamp, which led to head coach Robert Saleh labeling his absence as “unexcused.” The reason behind Rodgers’ absence has finally been revealed: he was on a pre-planned trip to Egypt, as reported by SNY. The star quarterback, who is 40 years old and a former NFL MVP, made the trip during his recovery from a 2023 Achilles tear, as a way to have something to look forward to during a tough time in his career.
Rodgers had always been fascinated by Egyptian culture and this trip was something he had long admired. He believed that the Jets’ offseason program would be completed before he left for Egypt, and the team only found out about the scheduling overlap when the minicamp dates were finalized. Head coach Saleh had told reporters about Rodgers’ unexplained absence at the beginning of the minicamp, citing it as a personal event of importance. Despite this, team owner Woody Johnson played down the situation by emphasizing that Rodgers had been present at almost all of New York’s voluntary spring workouts prior to the minicamp.
Several Jets players have expressed that they had no issues with Rodgers missing minicamp, highlighting his participation in organized team activities as well. The Jets’ decision to announce Rodgers’ absence the way they did was possibly to prevent a precedent of players missing mandatory workouts for pre-planned trips. However, Rodgers is expected to return for the start of the 2024 training camp, with rookies scheduled to report on July 18 and veterans on July 23.
