Robert Saleh woke up Thursday morning, saw the bad weather forecast, and decided to keep Aaron Rodgers out of the team’s joint practice with the Washington Commanders as a precaution due to the poor weather.
“He’s taken every rep in practice, so I just felt like it’s just unnecessary,” Saleh said. “Heightened environment, unfamiliar foes in terms of taking care of one another, I just didn’t want to expose him to it. If it was a game, if it was a practice if it was clean outside, he would have practiced today.
“Call it overprotection, but it’s just the decision I made.”
There was heavy rain during the nearly 2-hour practice, which had several hundred fans, some of whom got wet. Meanwhile, Rodgers watched from the side and talked to teammates and coaches while wearing a rain hoodie, black pants, a cap, and a towel around his neck.
“He pushed back,” Saleh said. “He wanted to go. In the grand scheme of things, we’re trying to keep forward-thinking with regard to Week 1. And we’ve got a long way for that. And he’ll have other opportunities (for joint practices) coming up with Carolina and the Giants.”
The 40-year-old Rodgers is recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon that ended his season last year after just four plays. He has been healthy, fully participating in every previous practice, and looked good on the field during training camp this summer.
“He’s in a great space mentally,” Saleh said. “I keep telling people his arm looks like he’s 30. So he’s chomping at it and he’s ready to roll.”
The Jets and Commanders will play their preseason opener Saturday at MetLife Stadium. Saleh had previously mentioned that Rodgers wouldn’t play in this game or the second preseason game, and they have had early talks about whether he’ll play in the third game on Aug. 24 against the Giants — as he did last year.
