Are Jets punishing Aaron Rodgers over unexcused minicamp absences?

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh raised eyebrows when he confirmed Tuesday that quarterback Aaron Rodgers would be missing the club's two-day mandatory minicamp as an unexcused absence.

The Jets technically could've elected against fining Rodgers but reportedly will be going in a different direction.

"Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Rodgers will be fined," Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio revealed on Tuesday evening. According to Kevin Patra of the NFL's website, Rodgers can be fined up to $50,861 per the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic shared on Wednesday morning that "Rodgers is skipping all of Jets mandatory minicamp this week because he prefers to be somewhere else away from football." This indicates the future Hall of Famer isn't dealing with a personal or family-related matter that could lead to a player being officially "excused" from minicamp.

"If the Jets excused Rodgers for whatever the event was that he chose to attend in lieu of showing up, it potentially sets a precedent that would apply to other players," Florio added. On Tuesday, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated noted that "excusing Rodgers for this unnamed event would create a credibility problem for the front office and coaching staff with the rest of the roster."

Specifically, Saleh said on Tuesday that Rodgers "had an event that was very important to him, which he communicated" to the club before the start of organized team activities. It's unclear why nobody within the Jets spoke publicly about Rodgers being away from the team this week until Tuesday.

Jets owner Woody Johnson insisted earlier this spring that Rodgers was "getting back to football 100 percent" amid his recovery from the torn Achilles he suffered in September 2023. ESPN's Rich Cimini pointed out that Rodgers had "been a regular at voluntary workouts for the past two offseasons" with the Jets, and individuals such as New York running back Breece Hall and reporter Connor Hughes of SNY played down any potential controversy related to Rodgers' latest actions.

"He's still trying to come back, still get back to feeling right from his injury and everything," Hall said about Rodgers on Tuesday. "I know he's working his tail off. Whether he's here or not, I know he's all in."