Aaron Rodgers Says Jets' 2024 Training Camp Has Been 'Much Harder' amid Injury Rehab

Head coach Robert Saleh told Aaron Rodgers this offseason that the team's training camp would be "tough," per ESPN's Rich Cimini.

And according to the veteran quarterback, who is returning from an Achilles injury that cost him all but a few snaps of the 2023 campaign, Saleh has lived up to his word.

"I would say the camp is much harder this year and maybe the hardest in the last seven or eight of my career," Rodgers said Tuesday.

While the 40-year-old said there are different philosophies on the benefits and risks of a rigorous training camp, he said he's personally enjoyed the experience.

"Some of the older players are enjoying the—to steal a coaching word—the 'callous' part of training camp, where you're grinding," he said. "Some people believe that, although it puts more strain on you in training camp, it actually gets you more ready to play when the season starts. And some people believe the opposite. You know how it goes: Whatever teams are having success, people kind of look at their schedule and go, 'Let's do that.'"

Rodgers had plenty of takes on Tuesday regarding preseason preparations:

While New York's training camp has been more intense this year, the Jets are still taking precautions to make sure Rodgers enters the regular season healthy. He didn't play in the first two preseason games and isn't expected to play in the third. He also was given a veteran's rest day on Tuesday.

Those precautions make sense. A Jets' team with Super Bowl aspirations finished just 7-10 last season, as backups like Zach Wilson, Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle absolutely floundered in place of Rodgers.

The Jets will be hoping they don't have to rely on a backup this season, though they added veteran Tyrod Taylor in the event Rodgers goes down again, providing the team a more reliable secondary option.

Granted, the team's outlook without the four-time MVP, 10-time Pro Bowler and one-time champion under center wouldn't be great. If he can remain healthy, however, the Jets have the talent on both sides of the ball to be a real problem in the 2024 campaign.