Jets' Robert Saleh explains change welcomed by Aaron Rodgers

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers revealed recently that he liked how head coach Robert Saleh had run a "much harder" training camp this year than what Rodgers experienced during his first summer with the organization.

Saleh explained his mindset regarding the preseason practices on Wednesday.

"...This country-club style that’s kind of taking on all of sport, not just football, but all of sport, there’s a fine line," Saleh said, as shared by Peter Botte of the New York Post. "They’ve got to be ready to play football."

Saleh seemingly feels he has little to lose in changing some things considering he went 18-33 across his first three seasons with the Jets and likely will be out of a job if Gang Green doesn't end the longest active playoff drought among the four major North American sports leagues this season. New York will be tested in a big way right out of the gates, as the AFC East club will fly across the country to face the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers for a Week 1 showdown on Sept. 9.

"We’ve made an effort to kind of be a little bit more efficient , how we work day-to-day with our guys," Saleh continued. "Because of it, our workload is significantly more this year than it’s been in the past. Obviously, I think it’s very beneficial anytime you can practice playing football, you’re going to get better at playing football, and I think our guys have responded awesome to it."

While the 2023 Jets never recovered from Rodgers going down with a torn Achilles four offensive snaps into the regular-season opener, Randy Lange of the club's website noted that New York's offensive line was decimated by injuries throughout the campaign. Saleh seemingly hopes the extra summer work may help prevent players from encountering such physical setbacks through Week 18 of the upcoming season.

"I think they’re starting to feel the difference and how important all these reps have been, and I think they’re feeling it especially as we’ve gone through these joint practices," Saleh added. "They’re leaving those practices feeling more and more confident."

That's all well and good as of the fourth week of August, but it remains to be seen if Saleh will have any regrets about how he handled training camp by the time New York's Week 12 bye week arrives in the middle of November.