New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers blasted critics of the team’s decision to put him back on the roster as the same naysayers who attacked him over his vaccine status.
During his recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers went to pains to explain that it was not his decision to be put back on the active roster as he continues to heal from his torn Achilles, the New York Post reported.
Critics have blasted Rodgers for going back on the roster because it meant the Jets had to cut someone to maintain the 53-man roster. That player ended up being fullback Nick Bawden.
Bawden won’t lose any salary because he was guaranteed his pay as an active roster member and because he was immediately signed to the practice squad and won’t have to leave the team. But critics are still slamming Rodgers for displacing Bawden from the main roster.
But Rodgers warned everyone that it was not his decision to be placed on the active roster, necessitating Bawden being cut.
“I assumed I was gonna go on IR (Injured Reserve). I asked to be put on IR,” Rodgers told McAfee. “There was a conversation, ‘do you want to practice,’ and I said, ‘not at the expense of somebody getting cut.’ I know how this works. I didn’t feel like I needed to practice to continue my rehab. I could do on-the-field stuff on the side.”
“But obviously, I got overruled there, maybe it is what it is. That was an interesting situation. I called Nick right away, just said ‘I hope you know this isn’t coming from me. I asked them to put me on IR.” he continued.
Indeed, Head coach Robert Saleh has confirmed that Rodgers asked to be placed on the IR.
“He expressed concern about taking somebody else’s roster spot,” Saleh told the media. “But we had roster flexibility and the ability to [activate him], so we did.”
But Rodgers also blasted the critics of the roster move.
“Before they talk, let’s go back to 2021 and let’s make people say their vax status to start. That’ll frame all these comments in the right window. Before they say something, let’s have them say, and ESPN is probably going to shut us off here, let’s have them say, ‘Hey, I’m so-and-so, double vaxxed with Pfizer and triple boosted, and my opinion is this guy is a bad guy because he just wanted to practice and took money away,'” Rodgers told McAfee.
“At least then you’d know, and everybody would know at that point, they have their puppet masters who are puppeteering them to say this certain thing about this guy, and they’re still upset about the fact that I believe in medical freedom. It’s the same tired narrative,” he concluded.
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