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How Aaron Rodgers is like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady in training camp
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

How Aaron Rodgers is like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady in training camp

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has raised eyebrows this summer by vocally and publicly displaying his frustration whenever offensive mistakes are made during training camp practices.

Jets head Robert Saleh recently mentioned how a pair of legends acted similarly during their Hall of Fame careers.

"I've heard stories of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady -- not to compare them -- but it's the same thing," Saleh said about Rodgers' outbursts, per Rich Cimini of ESPN. "The expectation and the standard is high. As a quarterback, he's trying to operate at a certain level of efficiency, which means people around him need to be efficient at the same level. When he's not feeling that as a group's leader and voice, he voices his opinion."

Rodgers' actions are understandable considering where he's at in his career. He claimed in March 2023 that he went into a so-called "darkness retreat" feeling "90 percent retired and 10 percent playing" before that retreat helped convince him to join the Jets via a trade from the Green Bay Packers. The 40-year-old then suffered a torn Achilles early into his Gang Green regular-season debut last September.

Last week, Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley noted how Rodgers is essentially a "legit player-coach" for a team looking to end the longest active playoff drought among the four major North American pro sports leagues. Part of that setup involves teammates such as center Joe Tippmann hearing blunt criticisms from Rodgers when a simple thing such as a shotgun snap goes wrong in practice.

"He can take me jumping his a-- a little bit and getting on him," Rodgers said about Tippmann. "Sometimes you need to do that."

It's hardly a secret that Jets owner Woody Johnson could part ways with Rodgers, Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas this coming winter if the team fails to meet high expectations for a second straight season. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the 2024 Jets at -175 betting odds to make the playoffs.

Simply qualifying for the postseason tournament may not be enough for Johnson to retain Saleh and Douglas even if Rodgers is serious about giving the organization "two great years" before he rides off into the sunset of retirement. 

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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