FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers’ offseason excursion to Egypt during mandatory minicamp made quite a few headlines.
The New York Jets quarterback has another trip in mind. And it would be even bigger news.
“The goal is New Orleans,” Rodgers said Wednesday, referring to the site of this season’s Super Bowl.
The 40-year-old Rodgers is putting the torn left Achilles tendon that abruptly ended his season last year after just four snaps behind him and focusing on big dreams for a franchise that has the NFL’s longest active playoff drought at 13 years. And the Jets’ last Super Bowl appearance is still its only one, when Joe Namath led them to a victory in 1969.
“It has to be the goal,” Rodgers said after the team’s first practice of training camp. “The beauty is that every single year, there’s eight to 12 teams, maybe, probably less, but eight to 12 teams that can actually do it.
“And, we’re one of those eight to 12.”
That mirrored Rodgers’ comments from a year ago, when he said the Jets were among six to 12 teams with a realistic shot to win it all. Those plans, of course, were sunk when Rodgers went down in the season opener against Buffalo.
But there’s renewed optimism now with Rodgers back on the practice field and feeling healthy — and plenty motivated.
“It’s going to take a little time,” Rodgers acknowledged. “I feel great. … I just need the reps. The last 5% of being 100% is just the mental part.”
The four-time NFL MVP has been practicing since late last season and is doing almost everything now on the field that he was before the injury.
“He looked good,” coach Robert Saleh said. “He can sling it. He can still sling it. He moved around real good, too, with just his lower-half movement.”
Rodgers was with the team during voluntary workouts and organized team activities in the offseason, but missed the Jets’ two-day mandatory minicamp on June 11-12 when he went on a pre-planned trip with some friends to Egypt.
“I originally scheduled it based on the previous year’s (practice) schedule, which had us out, I believe, by the 9th or 10th,” Rodgers said. “So once I saw the schedule, I was trying to move some things around. It just didn’t happen.”
He spoke to Saleh and his Jets teammates about the situation before he left.
“Obviously, he wanted me to be there, and I knew the consequences if I wasn’t going to be there,” said Rodgers, who acknowledged he was fined by the team for the unexcused absence. “The reaction is what it is.”
There was outrage by some fans and media, who scolded the quarterback for missing what they said was a valuable part of the offseason, citing the bad optics of the decision. Rodgers pointed out that the days labeled as “minicamp” are mandatory, but “they’re OTA days” — meaning it’s the same level of work as he had been doing with the team the last several weeks.
“I think they understood,” Rodgers said of his teammates, many of whom told reporters it was not a problem. “It was obviously more of an issue outside the building than it was inside the building.”
Meanwhile, Rodgers was overseas knocking off an item “on the bucket list,” fulfilling a desire he had since he learned about Greek and Egyptian mythology when he “was in a gifted and talented education class” as a youngster.
The plan came together while he was “back in some of the doldrums of rehab” from the Achilles tendon injury.
“The last two days were pretty special,” he said. “The second-to-last day, we were at the pyramids and the Sphinx in a private viewing. And then we went out in the desert on camels.”
Yes, Rodgers rode around Egypt on a camel.
“It’s a big animal,” he said with a grin. “It was a lot of fun. Not the nicest animal. I’ve been around llamas before. That’s a big llama. And I was trying to make sure I stayed out of the way of any spit that was coming out, but, yeah, that was fun. We got to watch the sun go down in the desert, watch the moon rise. It was a really special trip.”
And now the plan is to trade in the Nile River for the Mississippi in February, when the AFC and NFC champions head to New Orleans to play in the Super Bowl.
Rodgers believes this team’s roster is even more talented than the one the Jets had last year. And him staying healthy and playing well will go a long way in determining his travel plans.
“It’s day one, or day two, I guess,” Rodgers said with a smile. “But I think we’re locked in.”
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