Jets' Sauce Gardner Backs Aaron Rodgers, Rips Criticism of QB's Minicamp Absence

New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner is sticking up for Aaron Rodgers amid the quarterback's absence from mandatory minicamp this week.

In a post on X, Gardner pushed back on people making a big deal out of Rodgers not being with the team for minicamp after he was involved in all three phases of organized team activities.

The Jets held their two-day mandatory minicamp on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Head coach Robert Saleh told reporters on Tuesday that Rodgers communicated he had an event taking place at the same time as the minicamp that "was very important to him," but said his absence was unexcused and he would be subject to fines under the collective bargaining agreement.

Saleh did say that Rodgers was at the Jets' facilities on Monday for media day before leaving for his event.

Even though Saleh said he was made aware of Rodgers' absence ahead of time, backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor said he wasn't told he would be running the first-team offense until Tuesday morning.

When asked about why Taylor wasn't told of his role ahead of time, Saleh declined to answer.

"Nope, it's a one-on-one conversation that's not something the team needed to know about," Saleh said.

Following Wednesday's practice, Saleh emphasized there are no issues between Rodgers and the team or any of his teammates.

"I talked about it yesterday, but Aaron and I are on the exact same page," Saleh said. "There's no issue between Aaron—or his teammates, for that matter. So, like I said, we addressed it yesterday. It's more of an issue for everyone outside the building than it is inside. And that's about it."

There has still been no indication of what the conflicting event was that caused Rodgers to miss minicamp.

Rodgers' absence has led to wildly different criticisms ranging from over-the-top to thoughtfully measured, but they can also be traced back to the quarterback's comments from earlier this year.

Speaking to reporters in January after the Jets finished a 7-10 season, Rodgers said the Jets need to "flush the bulls--t" and focus their energy on wanting to win games without creating outside distractions:

"Anything in this building that we're doing individually or collectively that has nothing to do with real winning needs to be assessed. If you want to be a winning organization and put yourself in position to win championships and be competitive, everything that you do matters. And the bulls--t that has nothing to do with winning needs to get out of the building. So that'll be the focus moving forward. That's the focus of these [exit interviews]."

By skipping minicamp in the mysterious fashion that he did, Rodgers once again made himself the focus for nothing that has to do with putting himself and his team in a position to win.

In the grand scheme of things, Rodgers missing a few days of practice in June doesn't mean anything. But for a quarterback who over the past few years is known just as much for the headlines he's making off the field as he is on it, this isn't a great look for him or the Jets.

As long as Rodgers' Achilles is healthy and he's ripping throws to Garrett Wilson when training camp begins in July, this whole ordeal will be a footnote in the story of the 2024 New York Jets.