A short time after Aaron Rodgers revealed Tuesday that he asked the Jets’ brass not to activate him off the injured list when he was medically cleared to practice following his ruptured Achilles injury, Jets head coach Robert Saleh defended the decision, calling it “a net positive for us.’’
Rodgers, speaking during his weekly paid appearance Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” said, “I asked to be put on IR,’’ Rodgers said. “I assumed I was gonna go on IR. 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.’’
How it was going to work was fullback Nick Bawden getting cut to make room for Rodgers on the roster, though Bawden was signed back to the practice squad.
Rodgers said he reached out to Bawden to let him know his feelings on the matter.
Bawden, in a conversation with The Post on Tuesday, said he appreciated Rodgers’ gesture to contact him.
“It meant a lot,’’ Bawden said. “He was really candid with what his interpretation was of what went down and I just appreciated his honesty and candor. That’s just the type of guy Aaron is, so it didn’t surprise me at all. He FaceTimed me, so I got to see his face through the phone. It was an interesting situation and we’re all making the best of it.’’
Bawden called any perception of Rodgers being selfish and wanting to be activated as another notch in his comeback belt is “so far from the truth,’’ adding, “It’s really unfortunate that people have taken that as a selfish act.’’
Since Bawden, a three-year veteran, was on the roster to start the season, his salary for the season is guaranteed, so he didn’t lose out on any money.
Saleh on Tuesday explained the decision this way: “That was Joe and I,’’ he said, referring to general manager Joe Douglas. “[Rodgers] expressed concern about taking up someone’s roster spot. But we had roster flexibility, just like I told him, and we had the ability to do it so we did it.’’
Asked what that unselfish gesture told him about Rodgers, who comes with an outside perception that suggests otherwise, Saleh said, “It didn’t tell me anything. There’s a narrative about him from the outside world, but internally he’s one of the more thoughtful human beings I’ve been around.
“His heart was in the right spot, but Joe and I will always do what’s best for the organization, and having him around is a plus,’’ Saleh went on. “Having him on the practice field — he loves the practice field — so having him out there with his juice, his energy — shoot — even Friday leading to the Washington game running all the scout team reps and all the smack talk with the defense and the defense got into it. It was just a net positive for us.’’
Rodgers said his reasoning for not needing to be activated also had to do with the fact that “I didn’t feel like I needed to practice to continue my rehab.’’
“I could do on-the-field stuff on the side,’’ he went on. “But obviously, I got overruled there. 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.’ ’’
Rodgers later railed against his critics, claiming they are the same people who criticized his decision not to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
“Before they talk, let’s go back to 2021 and let’s make people say their vax status to start,” Rodgers said. “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.’
“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.”
