Jets' Aaron Rodgers shares surprising 'Hard Knocks' update

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers experienced somewhat of a change of heart regarding the New York Jets being featured as this summer's team on HBO's "Hard Knocks."

"I will say, this has not been bad at all," Rodgers explained about his recent "Hard Knocks" experiences during a Tuesday appearance on the WFAN "Boomer and Gio" program, per Logan Mullen of Audacy. "To me, it’s been very authentic with our guys and not a distraction at all. Now, I don’t know how much we’re limiting access on certain things that may be more distracting, but I think it’s been great." 

Head coach Robert Saleh made it known in June that his Jets were not among teams that supposedly "would love 'Hard Knocks' to be in their building" during training camp and preseason practices. 

Rodgers directly said in July that the Jets had the "Hard Knocks" assignment forced "down our throats and we’ve got to deal with it," and it was subsequently reported that the club could offer the HBO crew "the least access" in the history of the series. 

On Tuesday, Rodgers acknowledged he initially wanted to avoid the "big distraction" of having "Hard Knocks" cameras around as he and his new teammates prepare to pursue more than just a playoff berth. 

"And I think the fear for a team that has such high expectations is, and with 'Hard Knocks' coming in, is we want our team to be as authentic as possible," Rodgers continued. "...They’ve asked for me to be mic’d up a few times and I’ve gladly done it, I think the content has been good, it’s been real, and I’m having a good experience with it." 

Understandably, the season premiere of "Hard Knocks" released last week focused heavily on Rodgers joining a new team for the first time since the Green Bay Packers drafted the future Hall of Famer back in 2005. 

As for the "high expectations" mentioned by Rodgers, OddsChecker listed the Jets as seventh among all betting favorites at +1800 odds to win Super Bowl LVIII this coming February as of Tuesday afternoon.