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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets saw — and heard — the fiery side of Aaron Rodgers on Monday, as the star quarterback was visibly upset throughout a sloppy practice.
Rodgers threw an interception on the second play — a well-thrown ball off the hands of wide receiver Allen Lazard — and it got worse from there. There were a handful of “sacks” and about a half-dozen off-target shotgun snaps from Joe Tippmann that forced Rodgers to jump for the ball.
On another play, Rodgers was livid after falling to the ground when a lineman — either Tippmann or left guard John Simpson — stepped on his foot.
The four-time MVP was hotter than the sticky New Jersey weather.
“I would say ‘demonstrative’ is a good word for him,” said Lazard, Rodgers’ former Green Bay Packers teammate. “You’re talking about one of the best, if not the best quarterback of all time, and his standard and level of play is something a lot of guys haven’t seen yet. Even this organization — they haven’t really been with him on game day, because being with him on the sideline on a Sunday is different.
“Honestly, he expects the same standard that he holds himself to out of everyone else, and today just didn’t resemble that at all. I think as an offense we were just a little bit sloppy.”
It was the Jets’ first practice in pads, so rust might have been a contributing factor, or maybe the starting offense struggled to get recharged after a day off Sunday. Either way, it resulted in the most ragged practice of training camp.
Tight end Tyler Conklin called it a good learning experience, saying the Jets can benefit from having such a dynamic leader at quarterback. It’s been many years since the Jets had that kind of player at the position.
“I think that’s the beauty of playing with a great like that,” Conklin said. “You have someone that’s going to, at all times, hold everybody accountable, no matter who you are. I think that’s kind of something that not every team has. I think that’s really a blessing at the end of the day to have someone that cares that much and has a standard like that.
“That’s going to become our standard as a team. But to have a Hall of Famer who has won a Super Bowl — been there, done that — I think that’s necessary.”
Conklin said Rodgers sees the game a certain way, and he wants others to see it his way. That, Conklin said, can be difficult because Conklin says Rodgers, 40, is “the Oppenheimer of football.”
Rodgers, coming off Achilles surgery, has looked sharp in camp after missing all but the first four snaps of the 2023 season. In fact, the interception was his first in five practices. The Jets scored a league-low 18 touchdowns last season, and they’re counting on Rodgers’ return to galvanize an offense that features running back Breece Hall and wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
Wilson and Rodgers engaged in a heated conversation on the sideline Saturday, seemingly hashing out a play that went wrong, before shaking hands when it was over.
One potential concern for the Jets is Tippmann, a 2023 second-round pick who has experienced some hiccups with his snaps since the start of camp. On Monday, Tippmann went off to the side and practiced his snaps with Rodgers and a coach, but the problem persisted.
“Yeah, he has to work on it,” coach Robert Saleh said. “There’s clearly something going on.”
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