Aaron Rodgers Says Jets Rumors Don’t Have ‘Legitimate Legs’ amid Buzz of Saleh Rift

Zach BacharContributor IOctober 5, 2024

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New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers denied rumors of a rift between himself and head coach Robert Saleh in an interview with NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt on Friday.

“There’s a lot of stories, naturally because we’re in the New York market, that most of the time don’t have any legitimate legs,” Rodgers said. “They’re just talking points for outside the building. Whether it’s me pushing Saleh, which is something he loves doing. He loves pushing his guys.”

Speculation regarding potential disagreements between Rodgers and Saleh has existed since the veteran quarterback was fined by the team for skipping mandatory minicamp in June due to a planned vacation to Egypt.

An embrace between the two was also scrutinized after the Jets took an early lead during their 24-3 win over the New England Patriots in Week 3.

NFL on Prime Video @NFLonPrimeRodgers and Saleh are pumped.#TNFonPrime pic.twitter.com/b3aSB0VgsM

“He’s not a big hugger usually, so I didn’t know he was going for the hug,” Rodgers explained afterwards, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “He likes to do the two-hand chest push as well. He talks a lot about two-score leads. So I kind of gave him a push and said, ‘Two-score lead.'”

After a season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Jets appeared to be getting back on track with consecutive wins over the Patriots and Tennessee Titans. However, New York suffered an ugly 10-9 defeat at the hands of a Denver Broncos team starting rookie quarterback Bo Nix in Week 4.

Rodgers and Saleh will attempt to lead the Jets back over .500 in the team’s next contest, a matchup with the Minnesota Vikings in London. Kickoff is on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET.