FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Aaron Rodgers gave the people what they wanted.
On Thursday New York Jets fans were in attendance for the first time this training camp. When Rodgers took the field and spun a football on his hand, they bellowed. It only got louder once team drills started and on the first play, Rodgers bombed it to star wide receiver Garrett Wilson down the left sideline for a 40-yard touchdown.
Wilson got behind cornerback D.J. Reed and Rodgers placed it perfectly.
IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL 🎯🎯🎯 @AaronRodgers12 | @GarrettWilson_V pic.twitter.com/rCgtyu4Fsp — New York Jets (@nyjets) July 25, 2024 If Wednesday’s practice was bumpy for the offense , Thursday’s was anything but.
Rodgers looked like Rodgers. Here are some observations from Thursday’s practice: Rodgers in control He was dealing. It wasn’t until late in the practice that a Rodgers pass even hit the ground, discounting an incompletion on a pass during seven-on-seven (intended for Wilson, against Reed) that probably would’ve been flagged for defensive pass interference.
Advertisement The Wilson pass was the highlight of the day, though Wilson had gained sizable separation from Reed — he was fairly wide open. On Rodgers’ second pass, he hit Allen Lazard at the sideline. He connected with tight end Jeremy Ruckert on a no-look pass during seven-on-seven drills.
Rodgers was 3-for-3 in his next run of 11-on-11, connecting with Breece Hall , Tyler Conklin and Wilson again. In the next session, Rodgers tried to connect with Wilson, matched up with cornerback Sauce Gardner , but Gardner made a play on the ball, batting it away. Rodgers’ next pass missed Lazard in the middle of the field, probably his only inaccurate throw of the day.
On third down, he quickly passed the ball to Ruckert — who is having a good camp so far — in the middle of the field. To close things out in a move-the-ball period at the end of practice, Rodgers threw an incompletion to start, then completed a pass to Wilson, who remarkably caught the ball as he was falling to the ground, and then hit Conklin on fourth down to extend the drive, capped by a short touchdown pass to Lazard. It was the second straight practice that ended with a Lazard touchdown.
All told, Rodgers completed 9 of 12 passes in 11-on-11 and went 4-for-4 in seven-on-seven. Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. document.
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forEach((el) => { el.setAttribute("style", "pointer-events: none;");}) Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Haason Reddick update — and more details The Jets placed Reddick on the reserve/did not report list, opening up a roster spot for them to sign quarterback Ben Bryant.
The Jets placing Reddick on the list feels like an indication they don’t expect him to return anytime soon. And so the game of chicken will continue — the Jets won’t negotiate with Reddick until he reports, and Reddick doesn’t want to report unless he gets a new deal. The Jets seem to have misjudged how willing Reddick was to play on his current deal ($14.
25 million salary), which ranks 19th among edge rushers. Reddick is making less per year than Bryce Huff ($17.03 million) the former Jet who replaced him in Philadelphia, though Huff has never been a full-time starter.
Advertisement When the Eagles let Reddick seek a trade this offseason, there were a handful of teams that reached out. Most were not willing to pay the salary that Reddick was seeking — in the range of $25 million per year, which would have placed him in the top five among edge rushers. The Jets also weren’t willing to pay him that, at least not initially, but were will still willing to trade for him, especially once they were led to believe he’d report for the offseason program and perhaps negotiate a new deal later.
Instead, he has yet to report to the Jets facility other than for his introductory press conference. He is being fined $50,000 for every day of camp he misses, with no sign that his holdout will be ending soon. GO DEEPER A different kind of noise as the Jets' second training camp with Aaron Rodgers opens Punishment for penalties The Jets led the NFL in penalties last season; they specifically led the league in false starts, getting penalized 31 times for 154 yards.
Jets coach Robert Saleh is trying to curb that habit in 2024. When players commit false-start penalties in team drills, they are sent off the field. It happened to Ruckert and tackle Carter Warren on Wednesday.
On Thursday, John Simpson was sent off the field twice and replaced momentarily by Xavier Newman . Left tackle Tyron Smith was sent off the field once. “It’s just a reminder.
It’s not a punishment, it’s just to remind us all that it is a big deal,” Saleh said. “Those five yards can cost us. They cost us a year ago.
If we can just eliminate those self inflicted wounds, the pre-snap penalties.” Center Joe Tippmann called the punishment a “great thing”. “You’ve got to take accountability for your actions,” Tippmann said.
“Just seeing when somebody jumps, they get up and get off the field. I think that’s awesome. It’s immediately getting up there and taking accountability.
I think that’s something that’s huge. It’s something that’s going to make us better as an O-Line.” Advertisement An added wrinkle: Rodgers is famous for his complicated — and ever-changing — cadence at the line of scrimmage.
When the offensive line and Rodgers are working in unison, it can throw the defensive line off balance. The key is getting the line on the same page with him so they’re not the ones jumping early. “He does have a very extensive cadence and every different variation,” Tippmann said.
“As we go, he makes up new ones, he’s always growing and transforming it. When we’re lining up, we can’t be jumpy. We can’t be edgy every single play.
We have to be able to hold it back, lock in and go with the flow of the game because cadence is something you can use in a game to help the O-Line out tremendously. Keep them on their toes, get them to jump offsides, keep them back ..
. to be able to hold them in there for that extra half second helps in a game.” Running gains Last year, Breece Hall wasn’t activated off the PUP list until Aug.
15 and wasn’t a full-go right away. Now, he’s completely healthy — and it shows. Hall looked like the most explosive player on the field in 11-on-11 drills.
On a pass toward the sideline from Rodgers, Hall juked away from linebacker Quincy Williams for a big gain. “Just to be out there now, it feels good,” Hall said. “Yesterday before we went on the field I told the offense ‘let’s set the standard’.
Aaron said you set the standard.” Hall is in line for a big year; he even guaranteed on Thursday that he’d rush for over 1,000 yards this season. (He finished with 994 last year.
) Both rookies Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis have showed off their strong running style in OTAs and through two practices, but veteran Tarik Cohen — the oldest member of the running back room at 28 — flashed on Thursday. After a hand-off from Tyrod Taylor during 11-on-11 drills, Cohen met a horde of defenders on the right side, cut back in the opposite direction and had a big gain to the left. Israel Abanikanda also had a nice run with backup quarterback Andrew Peasley handing it off.
GO DEEPER The 11 players the New York Jets can least afford to lose to injury Injuries and other absences Right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and right tackle Morgan Moses remain limited by injuries and didn’t participate in team drills, though Saleh said they’re “very close” to returning and both could be back in team drills as soon as next week. Padded practices start on Monday. Saleh said the Jets added another quarterback (Bryant) because rookie Jordan Travis “is going to take a little more time than we were hoping” as he recovers from an ankle injury suffered while at Florida State last November.
Advertisement “We want to make sure we give him the time that he needs,” Saleh said. “This was always going to be a long term project.” Wide receiver Xavier Gipson limped off the practice field, though Saleh didn’t have any updates on Gipson’s status after practice.
GO DEEPER New York Jets 53-man roster projection: one of NFL’s most talented rosters (on paper) Miscellaneous notes • Smith and Moses stayed after practice working with some of the Jets’ young offensive linemen. Both have quickly emerged as important leaders after joining the team this offseason. • Defensive end Takkarist McKinley dominated the reserve offensive line, especially tackle Austin Deculus .
I thought he had back-to-back sacks in 11-on-11 drills against Taylor, though the Jets aren’t calling sacks yet. The veteran has a shot to fight his way onto the roster and is getting valuable reps with Reddick absent. • I think Max Mitchell has looked solid filling in for Moses.
He won his battles with defensive end Micheal Clemons in team drills. • Rookie corner Qwan’Tez Stiggers had another nice pass breakup on a pass from Taylor intended for Irv Charles. He actually caught the Taylor pass, though he was out of bounds by the time he landed.
• Cornerback Brandon Codrington muffed a punt early in practice but made up for it with an interception during seven-on-seven drills. (Top photo: John Jones / USA Today).
