Julian Edelman rips Aaron Rodgers for missing mandatory minicamp

“I think it's a bad idea for your boss, for whatever reason, to miss an unexcused absence,” Edelman said Friday during an appearance on FS1's “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” “I was with Tom Brady in his 25th or 23rd year, and he started to miss [voluntary] OTAs here and there, but he never missed a mandatory minicamp. I just thought it was a bad look.

The Brady analogy isn't perfect because Brady missed 11 days of training camp — far more important for preparation than minicamp — for unspecified reasons while preparing for his final season with the Buccaneers in 2022.

Brady and then-wife Gisele Bundchen divorced later that year.

Rodgers took a different approach to spring practice by attending voluntary OTAs so he could continue to get his reps in while returning from a torn Achilles suffered in the 2023 season opener.

The drills used and non-contact rules applied at OTAs and minicamps are very similar, with the main difference that absence from mandatory practices is subject to team-imposed fines.

“I'm a big fan of Aaron Rodgers,” Edelman said, “but if I was in that locker room and Aaron Rodgers wasn't there for three days on mandatory minicamp, after playing four snaps following an injury while we have two new receivers [and] a bunch of new linemen we added to the team, with a CBA that doesn't allow us to practice much? I guarantee you there are four or five guys – six, seven, eight, nine guys in that locker room – sitting there wondering, “Where is he?”

It's not publicly known where Rodgers was – he shared it with the Jets – although the rumor mill is swirling.

The Jets would have excused Rodgers' absence if it was under normal circumstances, such as a family commitment like a birth or death.

“I know a lot of people do things differently,” Edelman said. “But God forbid the New York Jets start the season 1-3, regardless of whether they start with the Niners, Tennessee, Patriots or anyone else. We all know the Patriots aren't good, but their defense is still the same. [tough] defense, and that's what Aaron is attacking.

“If they go 1-3, it’s going to be a big distraction for this locker room. Because everyone is going to talk about it – it’s New York. It is the media capital of the world.