Former Packers DB praises Jets' Aaron Rodgers as leader

Former Green Bay Packers safety and kick returner Will Blackmon believes quarterback Aaron Rodgers is an ideal leader for a young New York Jets team looking to compete for more than just a playoff berth this season. 

"Just as a person, man, he’s super, he’s super cool," Blackmon said about his former teammate during an appearance on the "Short & to the Point" podcast, per Arthur Weinstein of The Comeback. "He’s fun, he’s funny, he’s witty. He has that dry humor, which I understand that it drives people nuts, but that’s how I am. So we get each other." 

As recently as during his final season with the Packers, Rodgers allegedly confused and possibly irritated some teammates due to the dozens of hand signals he used to communicate play changes during games. Shortly after the Packers traded Rodgers to the Jets earlier this spring, the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player made it known he cares "more about being respected, especially by my teammates, than liked." 

Blackmon indicated Jets players won't care about such things once they have Rodgers serving as the team's in-game offensive CEO. 

"Just overall as a player, the cool thing about him is … when I evaluate a quarterback, we could look at the arm, we could look at his smarts, or whatever it is," Blackmon explained. "But when I’m in the huddle and we need something, we need help, can I look at that guy and be like, 'He got us.' And Aaron is one of those quarterbacks where you look at him, you’re like, 'He’s gonna do something eventually.'"  

The math suggests Rodgers is closer to retirement than to his physical prime. While he earned MVP honors for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the veteran who turns 40 years old this coming December was slowed this past campaign by a broken thumb on his throwing hand he suffered in Week 5 and knocked out of a Week 12 loss with an injury to his ribs. Last month, Rodgers dealt with a temporary calf issue that sparked some concern among Jets fans. 

Similar to former Jets quarterback and current "The NFL Today" analyst Boomer Esiason, Blackmon thinks Rodgers will silence critics with Gang Green later this fall. 

"He hasn’t slowed down," Blackmon said about Rodgers. "You know, that’s what’s funny about all these narratives." 

Rodgers will start to prove individuals such as Blackmon and Esiason right or wrong beginning when the Jets open the regular season versus the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 11.