The New York Jets, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers specifically, have been pretty adamant that all the extra outside noise surrounding the team has no place in its locker room. Their one and only goal is, and should, winning as many games as possible. Unfortunately, Rodgers himself is oftentimes the source of and the reason for the outside noise.
Rodgers, of course, missed all but four offensive snaps of the 2023 NFL season after tearing his Achilles early in the Jets’ Week One victory over the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately, it seemed as if the four-time NFL MVP was in the headlines more for his opinions on things outside of football than he was for his interactions with the team.
This is not to say that Rodgers is not entitled to his opinions, nor that he does not have the right to express them whenever and however often he deems fit. However, for a person who is constantly preaching against the horrors of cancel culture and the need to focus on team goals, he seems to go out of his way to welcome controversy.
New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Was Asked if He Would Consider Running for Vice President with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Jets, like all other NFL teams, have already started their offseason training program. This early set of practices, known as rookie mini camp, is a time for drafted players and undrafted free agents to begin learning the playbook and for teammates to start building chemistry.
In the midst of these practices, at which Rodgers is a participant, the future Hall of Fame quarterback filmed a two-hour long interview with the controversial former Fox News host, Tucker Carlson.
During the interview, Rodgers and Carlson discussed a wide variety of topics, including his reaction to independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asking him if he would consider running for Vice President:
“That’s why I was interested when Bobby came to me and said, ‘Would you think about being my running mate?’ And I said, ‘Are you serious? I’m a f—ing football player.’ But I love this country, and I’d love to be a part of bringing it back to what she used to be.
“I thought about it. I definitely thought about it because I love Bobby, and I just wanted to hear what he had to say about it.”
Kennedy, of course, did not pick Rodgers as his running mate. Instead, he chose attorney Nicole Shanahan.
At another point in the interview, Rodgers made reference to Carlson’s interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin a few months ago. He took a little jab and United States President Joe Biden by saying that he would like to see him talk about the history of America the way Putin talked about the history of Russia (many of the things Putin claimed to be historic were later debunked by historians).
Going on about the Russian leader, Rodgers said:
“You did one of the most controversial, somehow, not to me, most controversial interviews in the last, I don’t know how long, when you went to Russia and did Putin. How did it feel coming back? Because anybody who watched the interview was like, number one, it was f—ing awesome. Number two, Putin came off as an interesting, thoughtful, smart individual. And if you’ve read 1984, the base game plan of government control is you have to have an enemy, and you have to slander that enemy regardless if you know anything about them.”
After praising Putin, Rodgers went on to criticize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the way he dressed for his appearance when he went before Congress.
