Jets reporter shares if Aaron Rodgers' minicamp absence is a distraction

During a recent appearance on the "Awful Announcing Podcast," New York Jets reporter Connor Hughes of SNY explained why he doesn't believe quarterback Aaron Rodgers skipping the club's two-day mandatory minicamp as an unexcused absence earlier this month is all that big of a deal.

"A distraction to me is something that is going to impact the team," Hughes said, as shared by Reice Shipley of Awful Announcing. "Impact the team long-term and impact the team this coming season. I don’t see this impacting the Jets and what they are going to accomplish this coming year in any way, shape or form. If they are going to go on a playoff run and maybe even reach the Super Bowl, missing two days of mandatory minicamp isn’t going to impact that at all."

While individuals within the Jets such as head coach Robert Saleh, cornerback D.J. Reed and running back Breece Hall defended Rodgers for enjoying a "vacation" during the team's mandatory practices, outsiders have ripped the 40-year-old for generating unnecessary headlines ahead of what likely will be a make-or-break season for Saleh and, possibly, for general manager Joe Douglas.

"If the Jets miss the playoffs and everyone gets fired this year, it’s not going to be because Aaron Rodgers missed two days of mandatory minicamp," Hughes continued. "It’s likely going to be because of injuries or that the offense just didn’t come together under (offensive coordinator) Nathaniel Hackett. However, this was a headline. It was noteworthy, it was newsworthy. It was unnecessary attention that didn’t necessarily have to be there. It didn’t have to be a headline in mid-June."

The 2024 Jets suffered no real loss due to Rodgers' minicamp absences, but it remains unknown why neither he nor Saleh revealed in late May or early June that the future Hall of Famer would simply be elsewhere for the practices. Doing so likely would've put the matter to bed before the team's summer break, but there now remain more questions than answers regarding why Rodgers and Saleh handled this situation as they did.

"So, a distraction? I don’t necessarily know if that’s the word I would use," Hughes added. "But it certainly was a newsworthy headline."