There was ton of positive momentum surrounding the New York Jets heading into the year.
The front office upgraded multiple positions of need, they had a fantastic draft that gave them impact players who could immediately help this time while also planning for the future, and their superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers was back and looking healthy.
All of the frustrations that were present during the last campaign were seemingly wiped away over this offseason as the Jets look like legitimate threats to win the AFC East and make a playoff run for the first time in over a decade.
Unfortunately, like it has so often with New York over the years, things went off the rails.
After everything was kumbaya during voluntary workouts, that quickly changed when Rodgers missed mandatory minicamp with his trip to Egypt which became the talking point of NFL media across the country.
Questions about his leadership and commitment to this team were the basis of the criticism that became personal insults when he was being labeled selfish.
Rodgers is no stranger to that type of rhetoric, so it likely didn't bother him much, but it was another distraction that could have been avoided.
Still, things seemed to be fine when head coach Robert Saleh said everything is all good between the organization and their star quarterback, and even though he missed mandatory minicamp, they understood his reasoning.
So while the noise was loud outside, inside the locker room everything looked OK.
Well maybe that isn't the case after all.
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, "Rodgers went to Saleh after that to question why he would call it unexcused" since this was something the coach and organization knew about prior to the future Hall of Famer leaving for his trip.
Russini adds that "everyone's great now" after the two ironed things out, but that is not something the Jets needed during this time when everything seemed to be going in the right direction.
What happens after this will be interesting to monitor.
New York was reportedly looking to replace offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett this offseason, someone who is very close with Rodgers.
If things don't go as expected early this year, the relationship between Saleh and Rodgers will be something to keep an eye on.
