Aaron Rodgers will be dealing with a much different media market now that he is a member of the New York Jets, and two NFL legends with extensive experience in The Big Apple wonder if the star quarterback will be able to handle it.
Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan, who played for the New York Giants for his entire 15-year career, spoke about Rodgers during an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” that aired on Thursday. Strahan was asked if he thinks Rodgers will be a good fit in New York, and he said he is skeptical about how the four-time MVP will coexist with the media.
“I don’t know if Aaron Rodgers and the media (will fit),” Strahan said, via Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post. “The media here is kind of like guilty until proven innocent. They don’t like you — you have to make them like you and I think he comes in already off darkness retreat, so they’re gonna be like, ‘You know, this guy…’”
Strahan said he thinks the media will give Rodgers the benefit of the doubt at the start, but they are always looking for ways to criticize players. He added that he is interested to see how Rodgers will be treated because the media is “tough” in New York and “can’t be tamed.”
Tiki Barber, one of Strahan’s former Giants teammates, made similar remarks back in February. The former Pro Bowl running back said during an appearance on WFAN that Rodgers’ open criticism of NFL reporters may be a sign the quarterback is too “sensitive” for a tough media market like New York. Barber made the comments in the wake of Rodgers blasting ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“As I’m reading the full quotes from his Pat McAfee weekly appearance, talking about Schefter and Rapoport … it just made me start to realize that if he is that sensitive that he gets upset that people, reporters, opinion-makers, influencers — whatever — want to talk about him, he is going to struggle in New York,” Barber said. “I don’t know if I want him in New York if this is going to be his reaction to things that don’t matter.”
Rodgers definitely has a chip on his shoulder. That has helped him become one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, but Strahan and Barber raised some good points.
Rodgers is regularly unhappy with the national media. He will now have to deal with them and the New York market, which will require a great deal of patience.
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