Aaron Rodgers has endured a lot of criticism from the media. Especially over the last two years during his time with the New York Jets. Rodgers’ first year there was a wash after he suffered an Achilles injury on the fourth play of the season. Things weren’t much better in 2024, with the Jets winning just five games.
For all the criticism Rodgers has received, none has come from his teammates in New York. Instead, he’s still earning praise from them. The latest comes from Jamien Sherwood, who’s been a Jets linebacker since 2021.
“Aaron Rodgers was a great person, a great player obviously,” Sherwood said Wednesday via video on the Jets’ website. “He taught everybody in this building a lot, just during the two years he was here. I can say he helped create a standard for myself, and those other guys on offense. So he really, basically, left a mark on all of us. He taught us all so much in a short span of time that we can all carry the rest of our lives, the rest of our football careers. So, he meant a lot to us, I’ll say that.”
When Rodgers began his NFL career, he sat behind Brett Favre in Green Bay. Favre was not happy about his eventual replacement being there, and he did little to mentor Rodgers. Since, Rodgers has made the effort to be there for younger players since Favre didn’t do that for him. By all accounts, he was a good mentor for Jordan Love. Based on Sherwood’s words here, he was a good mentor in New York as well.
Still, Rodgers gets a bad rap in the media. He skipped OTAs during his time in New York, going on vacation instead. And although it’s never been reported that Rodgers was at fault, he initially caught a lot of blame when his Jets HC Robert Salah was fired during the 2024 season.
All of these things make Steelers fans wary of bringing Rodgers into the building. However, by all accounts, he’s rarely an issue with teammates. Sherwood’s words speak to that. Even one of his former Packers teammate, James Jones, has said that Rodgers is able to keep his receivers happy.
You can have any opinion you want on Aaron Rodgers, and you’ll find people that agree with you. One thing he can’t be criticized for, based on his time in New York, is being a bad influence in the locker room.
