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Aaron Rodgers wants everyone to know that he wasn’t calling all of the shots in New York.
During his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers said that the Jets “overruled” his decision to go on IR when they activated him to the 53-man roster.
Activating Rodgers, who ultimately landed on the IR instead of making a comeback from a torn Achilles, meant that the team cut fullback Nick Bawden — leading to a lot of criticism from the fan base. Bawden was ultimately re-signed to the practice squad, and Rodgers never returned to the field.
According to Rodgers, he never expected to be activated to the 53-man roster because he could continue his rehab off of the practice field.
"I asked to be put on IR because I didn't wanna practice at the expense of somebody getting cut..
I didn't feel like I needed to practice to continue my rehab but obviously I got overruled there" ~ @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/XHmsGTfxL3
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 26, 2023
“I assumed I was gonna go on IR. I asked to be put on IR,” Rodgers told McAfee. “There was a conversation ‘do you want to practice,’ and I said ‘not at the expense of somebody getting cut.’ I know how this works. I didn’t feel like I needed to practice to continue my rehab. I could do on-the-field stuff on the side.
“But obviously I got overruled there, maybe it is what it is. That was an interesting situation. I called Nick right away, just said ‘I hope you know this isn’t coming from me. I asked them to put me on IR.'”
After his initial remarks, Rodgers went on to say that the people who criticized him are just haters who are still mad that he decided against getting the COVID vaccine.
“Before they talk, let’s go back to 2021 and let’s make people say their vax status to start,” Rodgers said, as transcribed by the New York Post. “That’ll frame all these comments in the right window. Before they say something, let’s have them say, and ESPN is probably going to shut us off here, let’s have them say ‘hey, I’m so-and-so, double vaxxed with Pfizer and triple boosted, and my opinion is this guy is a bad guy because he just wanted to practice and took money away.’
“At least then you’d know, and everybody would know at that point, they have their puppet masters who are puppeteering them to say this certain thing about this guy, and they’re still upset about the fact that I believe in medical freedom. It’s the same tired narrative.”
The Jets currently sit at 6-9 (nice) on the season and are in third place in the AFC East. They have officially been eliminated from the playoffs.
Up next for the Jets in the penultimate game of the season is a Thursday night showdown against the Cleveland Browns on the road. Kickoff at FirstEnergy Stadium is set for 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
