Aaron Rodgers didn’t actually read the article he’s referring to, but he took a shot at teammate Haason Reddick and his former agent on Tuesday.
Rodgers, speaking on ESPN on Tuesday, was asked about a report from The Athletic last month that said the New York Jets’ locker room was in “complete disarray” ahead of the season based, in part, on how they handled him.
That quote, Rodgers believes, came directly from Haason Reddick’s camp.
Warning: The following video contains language that is NSFW.
“I would say the culture is about the opposite of what that article said,” Rodgers said. “I didn’t read the article, but just reading that headline there, it sounds like it was written by Haason Reddick’s agent, or former agent I guess, possibly, with the way they’re trying to disparage our great organization.”
Reddick was acquired by the Jets in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, though he’s yet to play with the team amid a contract dispute with the Jets — which is still going on heading into Week 4 of the season.
Rodgers returned to the field this fall after the Achilles injury he sustained just four plays into his debut with the team last season. Rodgers skipped mandatory minicamp for a trip to Egypt, which the Jets fined him for. He blamed that on a scheduling issue.
That trip was part of the anonymous quote that The Athletic used for its preseason story on every team in the league, not just the Jets.
“There is complete disarray over there. Look at how they’ve handled Aaron Rodgers,” the quote said. “Has one player had more power than him? He skipped minicamp. They have been unable to convert him into a team player. The vibe inside the building is terrible.”
While Rodgers didn’t actually read the story, and it’s unclear if the quote even came from Reddick’s camp, taking a swipe at a current teammate publicly like that is a bit unusual.
Rodgers went 27-of-35 for 281 yards and threw two touchdowns in their 24-3 win over the New England Patriots last week, which pushed them to 2-1 on the season. He’s thrown for 624 yards and five touchdowns and completed just better than 67% of his passes through three games.
Rodgers and the Jets will host the Denver Broncos next on Sunday.