New York Jets training camp battles, featuring Aaron Rodgers vs. distractions (2024)

On Tuesday, New York Jets veterans will report for training camp, joining rookies and injured players already on campus. Practice will begin on Wednesday. Finally.

The Jets have high expectations — and a lot of questions. Over the coming weeks, there will be battles for roster spots, for starting spots, for respect.

the @GarrettWilson_V vs. @iamSauceGardner battles have begun 👀 pic.twitter.com/8aVrAiSz9j

— New York Jets (@nyjets) June 12, 2024

Here’s a look at all the training-camp battles I’ll be watching closely:

Aaron Rodgers vs. distractions

The Jets quarterback would tell you that this is a war he’s been waging since he joined the Jets. The reality is, with Aaron Rodgers, distraction comes with the territory. That is not going to change anytime soon. A comment Rodgers made in passing on a golf course led to a whole news cycle about Davante Adams becoming a Jet. Rodgers skipping mandatory minicamp — or glorified OTA practices — for a trip to Egypt became a point of discussion on sports talk shows weeks after it happened.

“The thing that people don’t understand was that when I was in the NFC North (with the Packers) years ago there used to be a real thing called minicamp where it was … it was five practices in three days,” Rodgers said on the “Pardon My Take” podcast on Monday. “Now it’s not minicamp. They can arbitrarily put a tag on whatever week of OTAs they want and say this is the minicamp week, which makes it more mandatory than the other weeks. But it was an OTA schedule. That’s how words can be a little deceiving from time to time. It can make a story about how I missed a minicamp when it was really two OTA days. I came to the first 10.”

Rodgers will presumably continue to appear on podcasts and YouTube shows, some surely controversial, along with his weekly appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show.” It wouldn’t be surprising if he made some public statements during election season.

But the volume becomes a little less loud if Rodgers is on the field, playing well, staying healthy. There will be no “Hard Knocks” camera this time around, but everything the Jets can or will do this season revolves around Rodgers, his health and his on-field performance. He’ll surely put on a show in training camp, as he always does, but maybe it will be slightly less quiet this time around than it was last year. The Jets could use less noise and self-declaration about how this team is built to win a Super Bowl before much of the roster has even played in a game together.

Less noise would be better for everyone — but no noise is impossible when Rodgers is your team’s quarterback.

Allen Lazard vs. Irv Charles and Jason Brownlee

The tone around Lazard has certainly changed a bit over the past year. Even if there wasn’t excitement around his signing last year, there wasn’t vitriol. Then, last season, he was one of the least productive starting wide receivers in the NFL (23 catches, 311 yards, one touchdown in 14 games) and was a healthy scratch late in the season.

He’s only locked into a roster spot because of his contract, so the hope is Rodgers’ return will help him. Since Mike Williams — opening training camp on the PUP list, more on him shortly — will be out for a bit, Lazard should get a fair share of first-team reps in training camp. But once Williams returns there’s not an obvious path for Lazard to even be active on game days.

Garrett Wilson, Malachi Corley, Xavier Gipson and Williams should be viewed as locks for playing time. Charles is probably the Jets’ best gunner on special teams. So it could come down to Lazard and Brownlee battling it out — and Brownlee (five catches, 56 yards, one touchdown in 2024) has more of a special teams background than Lazard, who has never really contributed in that area in the NFL. Though he was spotted with the special teams unit as a blocker on returns during OTAs.

Garrett Wilson vs. Sauce Gardner

Their battles in camp the last two offseasons have been appointment viewing, two elite young talents duking it out. Gardner had a quicker ascension to superstardom in the NFL than Wilson, though Wilson might already be there if not for all the Jets’ issues at quarterback.

It feels like Wilson is on the verge of making that leap in 2024. He won some of his reps against Gardner — and vice versa — during OTAs. In team drills, this is where everyone’s eyes will be focused.

Haason Reddick vs. Jets front office

As of Monday, it was still unclear if Reddick, the star defensive end acquired in a trade this offseason, planned to report on Tuesday with other Jets veterans. He’d be subjected to maximum fines of $50,000 for every day of training camp he skips.

The Jets have caught a lot of flak for trading for Reddick knowing he wanted a new deal and without a plan to give him one. The organization was under the impression that Reddick would report for OTAs and mandatory minicamp and that perhaps they’d work something out later on. Instead, Reddick skipped OTAs and minicamp.

Perhaps the Jets and Reddick will come to some sort of agreement by the time practice starts this week (perhaps guaranteeing some or all of Reddick’s $14.25 million salary or adding on incentives). Reddick will be a crucial piece of the defense this season, especially since the Jets let Bryce Huff walk in free agency and traded John Franklin-Myers to the Broncos.

Chuck Clark vs. Ashtyn Davis

There’s an assumption that Clark will be the starting safety alongside Tony Adams — and that’s fair. Clark (96 games, 63 career starts) has plenty of experience from six years with the Ravens and a proven track record of success. The Jets traded for him last season with the intent to start him.

But Clark has to show he’s still the same player coming off ACL surgery, which cost him all of last season. Davis wasn’t a full-time starter last year but was one of the Jets’ best play-makers; he brings a different sort of athleticism to the position than Clark. Last year, Davis had three fumble recoveries, three interceptions, eight pass deflections and contributed to a safety.

Clark should be considered the favorite but he won’t be handed the job, and Davis will still play a role either way.

Tyron Smith vs Jets D-Line

The Jets offensive line was routinely dominated during training camp last summer, the product of a part-old/part-injured group put together by general manager Joe Douglas.

The unit should look much better in 2024, on some days at least. That starts with Smith. He looked utterly dominant during team drills in OTAs, as he has for his entire career when healthy. Watching him go one-on-one with a talented Jets defensive line — particularly Reddick and Jermaine Johnson — will be fun to watch in both 11-on-11 and O-Line vs. D-Line drills.

Smith will get his fair share of rest days too, which will give rookie Olu Fashanu a shot at some valuable first-team reps.

Mike Williams vs. rehab

Williams will open training camp on the PUP list, as expected. Robert Saleh has indicated that Williams will be on a plan similar to that of running back Breece Hall when he was coming off ACL surgery last year. Hall opened camp on PUP and was activated a couple weeks into training camp. The Jets will rush Williams back, though the intent is for him to be ready to play in Week 1.

Whether or when he gets a full workload will be the question, along with how he looks coming off ACL surgery. Williams is an important piece of this offense since the group around Garrett Wilson at wide receiver right now is either inexperienced or underwhelming. Once Williams does return, the hope is that he returns to form as one of the NFL’s best deep threats and 50/50 ball catchers.

Israel Abanikanda vs. Tarik Cohen (and others)

It feels like a safe bet that at least three running backs will be on the 53-man roster: Hall and rookies Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis. If the Jets keep four (or more) running backs it will come down to Abanikanda, a fifth-round pick last year; Cohen, a veteran return specialist trying to make it back from multiple serious injuries; plus fullback Nick Bawden and Xazavian Valladay, who spent most of last season on the practice squad.

The Jets had high hopes for Abanikanda last year but didn’t trust him enough to play him at all until the very end of a lost season. He has an uphill climb and might need to stand out as a returner.

Cohen hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2020 but is still only 28; in his prime he was one of the NFL’s best returners and valuable pass-catcher out of the backfield for the Bears. If he can find his old glory, Cohen will be one of the best stories in camp.

Will McDonald vs. the weight room

The 2023 first-round pick barely played as a rookie (184 defensive snaps) but will take on a significant role as a pass rusher in his second year. McDonald clearly has the pass-rushing talent but came into the NFL a bit small for a defensive end and is still listed at just 236 pounds on the team website.

Saleh alluded to McDonald using the last month away from the team to bulk up.

“He’s gotten stronger, it may not look it,” Saleh said in minicamp. “He has a slight frame, that’s his makeup, but you can see his strength. We can’t see all the physicality because it’s a little bit more tempered, but with regard to Will I think he’s put in a good offseason. These next 40 days are big for him, and we’ll see when pads come on.”

Roster bubble battles

Some other low key roster battles I’ll have my eye on…

• Kenny Yeboah versus Zack Kuntz: Tyler Conklin and Jeremy Ruckert are locked in. It’s possible both Yeboah and Kuntz make it and the Jets keep four tight ends, but if they only keep three, the battle of Yeboah and Kuntz will be intriguing. Yeboah is experienced, coaches love him and he brings special teams value. Kuntz has all the physical tools but hasn’t put it together yet.
• Jarrick Bernard-Converse vs. Jaylen Key: Bernard-Converse was a sixth-round pick last year but missed most of training camp and the season with injuries. Key was “Mr. Irrelevant” as as seventh-round pick this year. Douglas rarely cuts players he just drafted, though Bernard-Converse has some intriguing athletic traits. Both will get a shot to stick if the Jets keep five safeties.
• Eric Watts versus other bubble D-Linemen: The undrafted rookie defensive end was a standout during OTAs and has a real shot to stick around since the Jets are lacking depth on the defensive line. If Micheal Clemons is a lock to make it as the fourth defensive end, Watts should be considered the favorite if they keep a fifth. He’ll have to stave off veteran defensive ends Takk McKinley and Jalyn Holmes, undrafted rookie Braiden McGregor and defensive tackles Leonard Taylor and Tanzel Smart.
• 10th offensive lineman: I have nine offensive linemen as safe bets to make the 53-man roster, and it will be up to Douglas to decide if he wants to keep another. Guard Jake Hanson is the favorite but guards Xavier Newman, Kohl Levao and Chris Glaser will push for it.
• Backup linebacker: C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams and Jamien Sherwood are locks. Zaire Barnes, Marcelino McCrary-Ball and Chazz Surratt will push for a depth role.

(Top photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

Zack Rosenblatt is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the New York Jets. Before joining The Athletic, he worked as a staff writer for The Star-Ledger, where he covered the Eagles and Giants. He also covered the Arizona Wildcats for the Arizona Daily Star. He's a graduate of the University of Arizona and is originally from Cherry Hill, N.J. Follow Zack on Twitter @ZackBlatt