Jets' Aaron Rodgers Calls out Jihad Ward's Comments: 'I Think He's Making S--t Up'

The back-and-forth between New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and New York Giants linebacker Jihad Ward continued Thursday.

"I think he's making s--t up," Rodgers said of Ward's suggestion the Jets were laughing at Randall Cobb's illegal block that injured Giants safety Bobby McCain, per Connor Hughes of SNY TV.

Hughes noted Ward previously said HBO's Hard Knocks didn't accurately portray his back-and-forth with the quarterback and that he went after Rodgers following a pass as a way of sticking up for his teammate. He said the Jets laughing about the Cobb incident was "sucker" stuff.

Tuesday's episode did show the Jets discussing Cobb's block in the huddle with Rodgers saying, "What are you doing bro? This ain't 2014!"

Jordan Raanan of ESPN noted McCain was placed in concussion protocol.

The block wasn't the end of it, as Ward pushed Rodgers following a play on the ensuing drive. The quarterback told the linebacker he didn't know who he was and then yelled "don't poke the bear" following a touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson.

"Everybody going to get pissed off at that. The whole team was pissed off, you know what I'm saying?" Ward said, per Raanan. "It's preseason and all that stuff and you're going to do some reaction like that?

"It's cool, though. That's how they roll. I think we play them soon, it is what it is."

That Oct. 29 game will already be a marquee one as the battle of New York, but the interactions stemming from the preseason contest will only add another storyline.

Ward and Rodgers are in very different positions, as the former has bounced around since entering the league in 2016 and played for the Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars and Giants.

Rodgers is a future Hall of Famer who is entering the second stage of his career after 18 years on the Green Bay Packers.

They wouldn't seem like natural rivals, but they will likely both be under the spotlight when the Giants and Jets take the field in October.