Aaron Rodgers RFK Jr. running mate links laughed off by Jets coach Robert Saleh – who says his quarterback will participate in spring practice despite bombshell vice-president reports
Aaron Rodgers is expected to participate in spring practice by the New York Jets, with his coach Robert Saleh laughing off suggestions the quarterback will be Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s running mate.
A bombshell report in the New York Times earlier in March said Rodgers and RFK Jr. had been talking ‘pretty continuously’ about the Jets star serving as his running mate, and that the NFL star ‘welcomed’ the discussions.
Saleh, meanwhile, spoke to reporters Monday morning at the NFL coaches breakfast in Orlando and was inevitably quizzed about his quarterback.
‘Expecting him to be available for spring,’ Saleh said. ‘OTAs, seven on seven camps, he should be able to do all of that stuff.
‘As we get closer in the next couple of weeks, we’ll communicate more. Fully anticipating it, yeah.’
The New York Jets expect Aaron Rodgers to be fully involved in planning for the next NFL season – despite bombshell reports linking him with being RFK Jr.’s running mate
Saleh was then asked if Rodgers will have ‘any other things going on besides’ football and planning for next season with the Jets.
Saleh laughed and said: ‘Not that I’m aware of.’
RFK Jr. is expected to announce his running mate on Tuesday – according to the same Times article that linked Rodgers to the position.
The availability of Rodgers is all the more significant for the Jets after the quarterback snapped his Achilles just minutes into his New York debut last season, curtailing his debut campaign just as it began.
It took the Jets campaign down, too – one the most hyped teams before the NFL season failed to make the playoffs, despite Rodgers doing everything to return before the hopes were put to bed.
The RFK Jr. links emerged while Rodgers was on an ayahuasca trip in Costa Rica, according to Pat McAfee.
McAfee, who hosted Rodgers on his ESPN show every Tuesday during the NFL season, added that Rodgers was not expecting the news to be reported when it was.
McAfee said: ‘When the news broke on the internet from the New York Times that RFK Jr. had Aaron Rodgers as one of the finalists for his potential vice-president in his independent presidential run that is currently taking place, the world went.
‘Boy, I did not expect this one. I had no idea this one was going to happen. I started thinking back and you can see how RFK Jr. has really ruffled some feathers in the politics world.
‘We happen to be in the middle of that and I didn’t necessarily love the feathers that were ruffled because I had to be in the middle of a storm.
‘But hey, listen. Aaron Rodgers is a friend of the program, a friend of ours, this is how he feels, he’s one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of football.
‘So I reached out to sources. From my understanding there is a chance that said person (Rodgers) who has the potential to be future vice-president for an independent president if that was to ever happen, first-time ever in the history of the United States, never really got more than like 4 per cent of votes or something. I’ve done a lot of research.
‘The world found out while that man was in Costa Rica. So whenever that picture is posted, Jordan Poyer and Aaron Rodgers, we can allude now they are down in Costa Rica right now.
‘What are they doing in Costa Rica? We assume they’re going to sit with the medicine and they said you don’t have to go attic and basement if you prepare for this type of thing.
‘That is a much nicer set-up than I was expecting after hearing stories of the ayahuasca usage down in Costa Rice. They were talking about being in teepees and I’m like “woah, I’m never doing that”. I’ve seen other people doing videos of it and they’re like walking through mud but this seems like a very nice set-up down there.
‘I’m not 100 per cent sure that the quarterback for the New York Jets necessarily knew the New York Times was going to be reporting he’s potentially going to be vice-president.
‘I didn’t get many follow up questions in there because he was in the middle of something but I’m not 100 per cent sure there was a full rollout plan because he would not be in Costa Rica, you would think.’
Rodgers shares Kennedy’s mistrust of vaccines and the two are regulars on anti-establishment podcasts.
Kennedy has focused on getting access to the ballot, an expensive and time-consuming process that he has said will require him to collect more than a million signatures in a state-by-state effort.
Many states require independent candidates to name a running mate before they can seek access to the ballot, a factor driving the early push for Kennedy to make a pick.
