After trip to Egypt, Rodgers settles back in at practice with Jets

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — As the New York Jets wrapped up minicamp in June, Aaron Rodgers was thousands of miles away, in the early stages of a trip to Egypt he had planned months before.

As the NFL world — or, at least, the NFL media world — roundly criticized him for skipping mandatory practice, Rodgers experienced private tours of pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza. He watched the sun set and the moon rise, and he rode a camel through the desert.

“Not the nicest animal,” Rodgers said. “I’ve been around llamas before. I tried to make sure I stayed out of the way of any spit.”

It was a “special trip,” he said this week, in his first news conference since skipping mandatory minicamp — and incurring fines for the unexcused absence.

This was a trip Rodgers had on his bucket list for “three decades,” he said, since a class in elementary school in which he learned about Egyptian and Greek mythology.

He made the plans last season while he was out with a torn Achilles tendon.

“Back in some of the doldrums of the rehab, I thought it’d be fun to put together a trip with some friends,” he said.

He looked at the Jets minicamp schedule from last year and planned it around that. When the actual schedule was released, Rodgers discovered that his trip coincided with those mandatory practice days.

“I tried to move some things around,” he said. “It just didn’t happen.”

So, he skipped minicamp — and incurred the wrath of the world outside the Jets building. Inside the building, it wasn’t such a big deal. Rodgers said he had a “great talk” before the trip with coach Robert Saleh, who let him know he “wanted Rodgers to be there” at practice. He also told his teammates he would be gone, and he said they understood.

“I knew the consequences if I wasn’t going to be there. The reaction is what it is,” he said. “It was more of an issue outside of the building than inside.”

He continued: “I’m an adult, I knew what I was getting into, I knew the fine that was coming, and I also knew how much I wanted to be in Egypt.”

Now Rodgers is back stateside and a full-go on the practice field, no small feat considering that he tore his Achilles tendon 10 months ago. The noise around Rodgers’ trip to Egypt has quieted down, and the focus for the Jets is on what’s in front of them. There is pressure on this team to win, right now, or several notable people in the organization are likely to leave next year — namely Rodgers, Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas.

“The goal is New Orleans,” Rodgers said, alluding to the location of this season’s Super Bowl. “That has to be the goal. The beauty is every single year there’s eight to 12 teams — maybe, probably less — that can actually do it. We’re one of those eight to 12.”

Rodgers’ first day of training camp Wednesday was a light practice as the Jets ramped up over the next few days before putting on pads Monday.

On Day One, though, the defense was clearly ahead of the offense — to be expected with one of the NFL’s best defenses, and an offense full of new faces and some key players absent with injuries.

Rodgers opened 11-on-11 drills with completions to wide receiver Allen Lazard and running back Xazavian Valladay. In his run on seven-on-seven, Rodgers completed all four of his passes to tight end Jeremy Ruckert, wide receiver Garrett Wilson (twice) and running back Braelon Allen.

The Jets closed out the day running 11-on-11 drills in the red zone, and Rodgers was less successful in that session, completing two of six passes across two drives. The first drive opened with a short completion to Wilson on a screen and then followed up with three straight incompletions — including one thrown behind wide receiver Xavier Gipson in traffic, nearly picked by cornerback Sauce Gardner.

After quarterback Tyrod Taylor quickly led a two-play scoring drive with the backups, Rodgers got back on the field for another unplanned drive. This one went better: After an incompletion on a fade to Wilson and a bat-down at the line of scrimmage by defensive end Will McDonald — on a pass intended for Breece Hall — Rodgers moved around the pocket and connected with Lazard again, this time for a leaping touchdown grab.

Rodgers said he believed that last pass was a positive sign as he works his way back to 100%.

“It’s going to take a little time. My movement stuff is tracking the exact same as last year,” Rodgers said, adding: “But I just need the reps.