Aaron Rodgers thinks there’s a ‘driving force’ outside Jets trying to cause Robert Saleh rift

LONDON – Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers pushed back on the idea that there is a fracture in his relationship with head coach Robert Saleh here on Friday.

“I think there’s some driving force to try and put a wedge [from] outside the facility between Robert and I,” Rodgers said. “But, you know, we’re really good friends. We enjoy each other and we spend time [together]. Almost every day, I’m in his office talking about things and talking about the energy of the team, the focus of the team, what we need to get done, how I can help him out, how he can help me out. So we’ve got a great relationship.”

The relationship between Rodgers and Saleh has been scrutinized since Rodgers skipped the team’s mandatory minicamp in June, choosing instead to go on vacation in Egypt.

Saleh and the Jets fined Rodgers and Saleh’s comments about it at the time drew speculation that he could alienate Rodgers.

Then, in their win over the Patriots two weeks ago, there was an awkward sideline exchange where Rodgers pushed Saleh away as the coach tried to hug him. Both men said that was misinterpreted.

Last week, Saleh mentioned Rodgers’ cadence as a possible reason for five false start penalties against the Broncos and Rodgers had a negative reaction to the idea of reducing his cadence.

“I think he felt like his answer maybe didn’t actually reflect his feelings,” Rodgers said of Saleh. “The cadence has been a weapon. I think he kind of went in and got a chance Monday to kind of respond to all that.”

Rodgers said there was no need to have a discussion Monday with Saleh about the cadence flap.

Saleh said Wednesday that, “Aaron and I are fantastic. Love the guy.”

The Jets traveled here for their game with the Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday with the cloud of last week’s Broncos loss and the tension from it still hanging over their heads.

There is also the lingering prospect of a Davante Adams trade.

The wide receiver requested a trade from the Raiders this week and the Jets are considered the favorites to make the trade and reunite Adams with Rodgers, his quarterback for eight years in Green Bay.

Rodgers has talked about a desire to play with Adams again in the past but chose his words carefully on Friday.

“I don’t know how much I can say about it because of tampering,” Rodgers said. “But I still have a close friendship with him. We spend time in the offseason together. He’s a great guy and a great player. The rest of that is out of my hands.”

Rodgers was hit 14 times and sacked five times in the Broncos game. He left that game limping and said on Tuesday that his knee was swollen.

He has been listed on the injury report this week with the knee problem but practiced fully on Thursday and Friday.

“I feel pretty good,” Rodgers said. “I was a little banged up, but I feel pretty good.”

The Broncos blitzed the Jets often on Sunday and the Jets were not able to deal with it.

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is known for bringing pressure and the Jets know they are going to have to handle it better this week.

“They’re going to pressure, have line movement half the time probably. That’s what they’ve been doing,” Rodgers said. “I wouldn’t expect a big change. We didn’t necessarily handle it very well last week. So I expect them to run their defense and master disguise. [There are] a lot of different things they throw at you. We’re going to be good in protection first and then run the football effectively.”

Rodgers fielded several questions from the British media about playing here.

He was asked how he would sell someone here on becoming a Jets fan.

“Well, I think that you have to understand the Jet fan in America and what they’ve gone through the last 13 years and really the last 55 years and not won in the Super Bowl,” Rodgers said. “So I think sports fans in general can get behind an underdog or a team that hasn’t had the success they’ve wanted to in a while. So I welcome any and all bandwagon fans to jump on the underground train of the New York Jets and try and bring some positivity to our fans who have dealt with a lot.”