Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will enjoy at least one aspect of the New York Jets being featured as this summer’s team on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”
“Listen,” Rodgers told Vern Glenn of KPIX from the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe, per Bridget Hyland of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. “One of the only things I like about ‘Hard Knocks’ is the voice of God who narrates it, Liev (Schreiber), I hope I get to meet him.”
Back in June, Jets head coach Robert Saleh didn’t hide his feelings about not wanting “Hard Knocks” cameras around during Rodgers’ first training camp with the organization following the signal-caller’s trade from the Green Bay Packers earlier this spring.
However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk mentioned on June 26 that the Jets fell among eligible teams for the program because they don’t have a new head coach, haven’t been to the playoffs for either of the past two seasons and haven’t been on the show in the last 10 years.
“Hard Knocks” showcased the Jets back in the summer of 2010.
“The Jets technically can’t decline, although the NFL typically does not make a team submit to ‘Hard Knocks’ when it doesn’t want to,” Florio added. Rodgers suggested he and the Jets had little say in the matter.
“But look, I understand the appeal with us,” Rodgers continued. “There’s a lot of eyes on me, eyes on our team, a lot of expectations for our squad. They forced it down our throats and we’ve got to deal with it.”
Along with being a four-time NFL Most Valuable Player and a future Hall of Famer now working in the country’s largest sports market, Rodgers is also an outspoken individual with a history of generating headlines via controversial comments. Just last month, the 39-year-old was warmly received at a psychedelics conference, where he called for decriminalizing so-called “magic mushrooms.”
The New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders were also eligible for the preseason edition of “Hard Knocks.” Respectfully, none of them are as interesting as the Rodgers-led Jets heading into training camp.