Distraction is always a word that comes up in the discourse surrounding NFL teams.
A player never wants to become a distraction no matter the reason. It’s the worst thing you could be for your team. Everything has to strictly be about football all the time. Otherwise, it might hurt the team. At least, that’s how the thinking goes.
By that criteria, I can’t think of a bigger distraction this year than Aaron Rodgers.
The dude did his absolute best to make headlines on the Pat McAfee show every week. Whether it was talking about his return from a torn Achilles that he swore was happening in his return or just simply taking shots at people who probably weren’t even thinking about him, the dude always took the opportunity to make sure people were talking about one thing: Him.
He was the epitome of the “distraction” that NFL talking heads love to talk about. It remained that way all season long. So it’s quite rich to hear Rodgers say the Jets need to remove “the [expletive] that has nothing to do with winning.”
Yes, folks. That’s a real quote.
Aaron Rodgers: "The bullshit that has nothing to do with winning, needs to get out of the building."
— Antwan V. Staley (@antwanstaley) January 8, 2024
So does Rodgers plan on retiring now? Because, well, what else could he possibly be talking about?
Rodgers was quite literally the biggest story of the Jets’ season this year and he barely played a snap of meaningful football. He created the storylines. He created the distractions. He created the BS. Now, he’s tired of his own slop.
This is the NFL version of the “We’re trying to find the guy who did this” meme down to a tee. Rodgers drove a car into the Jets season and is trying to figure out how it happened. It’s amazing.
Nobody bought any of this.