Ryan Fitzpatrick is hurt by Aaron Rodgers.
The ex-NFL journeymen quarterback who went to Harvard has tweaked his fellow New York Jets counterpart before, having revealed his vaccination status during an interview on Amazon Prime Video . But this time, the Prime Video analyst is needling Rodgers about his leadership skills — and he’s not the only former quarterback in the media doing so.
Boomer Esiason said he was “shocked” by Rodgers’ postgame press conference following a 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills, cementing New York’s current three-game losing streak. That’s because Rodgers blamed his game-losing interception on wide receiver Mike Williams, only for the Jets to trade for Davante Adams not 24 hours later.
In taking to the podium, the 40-year-old Rodgers publicly accused the oft-injured Clemson product of running the wrong route on what proved to be a game-sealing ipick. He sang a similar tune about Williams, who is now reportedly on the trading block, during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Sho w Tuesday.
The latter didn’t sit right with Fitzpatrick, who took to X to express his displeasure with Rodgers’ comments below.
“I think if you watch my press conferences, I start it with myself when I make mistakes,” Rodgers told McAfee. “I’ve got to play better; I can’t make that throw. I can’t make that decision. That’s the standard for everybody. So, there were a lot of mistakes throughout the night, but if you’re looking at just that play — that’s what the question was — ‘What happened on that play?’ Well, it was two verticals to the right side, and Mike needed to get with the redline, which would’ve been a big gain.
“I wasn’t calling Mike out for anything other than his responsibility and the details in that play. I have a lot of love and respect for Mike. He does some nice things for us. On that play, he wasn’t in the right spot. You know, you can make more of that if you want to, but we all should be held to a standard. I hold myself to a standard of greatness, and when it hasn’t been there — which it hasn’t been at certain times — I’ve stood up there and said, ‘I got to play better. I wasn’t very good tonight.’
“I think, hopefully, that’s an example for everybody else to start with themselves. But that question was about what happened on the last play. I said what happened on the last play, you know?”
Here’s the play in question:
But Fitzpatrick wasn’t upset about the play; he was upset with Rodgers’ answer to the play.
“This response is the biggest thing I don’t understand about Aaron….can be super charismatic, his swagger gives teammates the ultimate confidence BUT,” wrote Fitzpatrick, ” why can’t he shoulder ALL the blame in the media and then get behind closed doors with Mike Williams or the whole offense or the whole team or anyone else that isn’t doing their job and tell them he needs more out of them. The need to set the record straight at the expense of someone lesser than just hurts me.”
That led to a conversation about Fitzpatrick’s leadership and how it differs from Rodgers. Interacting with his former center, Eric Wood, the two discussed how Fitzpatrick’s leadership was “a lot more refreshing” in the locker room despite his awkwardness when it came to players getting cut.
In the end, Rodgers and Fitzpatrick couldn’t be more different regarding leadership, and their views on accountability seemingly highlight that. Rodgers’ public critiques, even when carefully worded, don’t inspire much confidence in his ability to lead. Fitzpatrick, on the other hand, takes a more down-to-earth, sometimes awkward approach — one that connects with people who respect leaders willing to shoulder the blame themselves.
But Fitzpatrick wasn’t without his moments either. Toward the end of his Jets tenure, his response to getting benched after throwing 11 interceptions in seven games was publicly blaming the team . He might not have thrown his teammates under the bus, but he had some choice words for the owner, general manager and head coach.
And his play in 2016 — and his lack of accountability for throwing six interceptions in a 24-3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs — nearly led to a locker-room mutiny .
Perhaps the problem isn’t the quarterbacks, but rather the franchise they’re playing for. After all, it would explain the longest playoff drought in North American professional sports.
[ Ryan Fitzpatrick ]
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