Aaron Rodgers Is Back At Jets Practice & Trey Lance Looks “Significantly Better"
PLUS: Jimmy G Update, Craziest Food I've Eaten
Good morning!
In today’s newsletter:
Aaron Rodgers Back At Practice
What Geroge Kittle Said About Trey Lance
Raiders Get Good News about Jimmy G
Random Stat/Question of the day
Aaron Rodgers Is Back At Practice
After 15 seasons starting in Green Bay it’s still weird for me to read about Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. I’m almost used to it, but it still feels foreign.
Early in OTA’s Rodgers tweaked his calf and missed a good amount of practice. It’s the first time in a couple years that Rodgers even decided to show up for OTA’s. In Green Bay the past few seasons he made it clear that his time was better spent away from the team so that he could mentally refresh himself.
Of course there are mixed opinions on whether or not that was the best thing for the Packers. Last year I didn’t take too much of an issue with it as a Packers fan, but I’d be lying if I thought it wouldn’t have been more beneficial overall for the young Packers receivers if Rodgers had been present more often.
But now entering New York as the new leader and face of the franchise Rodgers has concluded that it’s more important this year for him to show up, at least part of the time.
Everything is new for him this year. New coach. New offensive line. Some new receivers because he brought a few of his buddies over in Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb.
After missing time with the calf injury Rodgers was back at practice yesterday and took part in everything besides 11 on 11s. Jets fans have to be hoping that calf tweaks and all other tweaks will not continue to be a persistent issue.
Injuries haven’t been something that plagued Rodgers for much of his career even though he’s had his moments of playing through injuries. The past couple seasons in Green Bay he had to push through his infamous toe injury and a finger fracture last season.
If Rodgers stays healthy the Jets future is bright. If Rodgers does not stay healthy, well, that’s another story.
George Kittle Says Trey Lance Looks “Significantly Better” Than Last Year
The 49ers QB situation is one of the more intriguing in the NFL. You have two former 3rd overall picks in Sam Darnold and Trey Lance, but neither are expected to start. Instead you have a 7th rounder entering his 2nd season that is expected to take the reins and lead the team once he’s fully back from his elbow injury.
If you were unfamiliar with the 49ers situation you’d likely be perplexed as to how a 7th rounder has been able to solidify himself as the starter with two former 3rd overall picks on the roster. It’s pretty mind boggling if you think about it.
You’d think drafting QBs in the top 5 of the NFL draft would be a sure thing. Well, time and time again we see that hitting on QBs in the draft is not easy.
All you have to do is look at the Bears drafting Mitch Trubisky 2nd overall in the 2017 draft with Patrick Mahomes still on the board. Thank goodness they did. Us Packers fans are forever grateful.
The 49ers have made it pretty clear that Brock Purdy is their guy. He showed in 2022 that he can do exactly what Kyle Shanahan needs him to do. He nearly carried them to a super bowl berth.
With Purdy injured Trey Lance and Sam Darnold have been splitting first team reps. News is coming out that Trey Lance Lance looks much better than last year.
Here’s what 49ers tight end George Kittle said via Matt Barrows of the athletic,
“I’m not gonna lie to you — I think Trey looks significantly better than he did last year. I really do. He just looks comfortable back there. He just looks like he’s having fun. And I appreciate that from him. Because when he’s out there having a good time, that brings up everyone around him.”
Lance is now entering his 3rd year in San Francisco. He’s been dealt unfortunate luck his first 2 seasons. He broke one of his fingers in the 2021 pre-season and in 2022 suffered a broken ankle in week 2. Because of that he’s only started 4 games in his first two years.
It looks like this off-season could be a game changer for Lance. It came out in late May from Matt Borrows of the Athletic that Lance changed his throwing motion this off-season thanks to his private QB coach Jeff Christensen who also happens to coach a guy you may have heard of named Patrick Mahomes.
According to Christensen Lance watched something Mahomes did with his throwing motion and was able to add it to his own game. (via Matt Borrows)
“I said, ‘Watch this. Watch what he does here,’' Christensen recounted. “It was something I was telling him to do that he wasn’t quite doing. And then he saw Patrick apply it perfectly. And I think that visual buy-in, that mental buy-in, helped him past that mental hump.”
After changing his throwing motion Lance no longer deals with arm soreness which was common before the change.
The only problem for Lance is that he’s still behind Brock Purdy. Could Lance beat out Purdy? It’s possible, but the 49ers know that Purdy can run the offense efficiently.
If Lance can come in during the pre-season and show to teams around the NFL that he can be the guy, there’s a possibility the 49ers trade him at some point in the future. It may not happen this year because the 49ers don’t want to be without help in the chance the Purdy’s injury continues to cause problems, or if he suffers another injury in the future. It will be interesting to see what happens with Lance and it’d be cool if he eventually got an opportunity to start, whether with the 49ers or someone else.
Jimmy Garappolo Expected To Be Ready For Training Camp
Las Vegas Raiders fans can take a deep breath.
Yesterday it came out from Ian Rapoport via Nick Shook of NFL.com that Jimmy G should be ready by training camp.
“Garoppolo, who underwent foot surgery this offseason, is expected to be ready long before the start of training camp, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday on Inside Minicamps on NFL+.”
There had been concern about his injury over the past few weeks when news came out that he hadn’t passed his physical and that he ended up having to get surgery to repair a foot injury suffered in September.
Jimmy G is a serviceable QB, but I don’t think he’s going to be much of an improvement over Derek Carr.
Random Stat Of The Day
The Chicago Bears have never had a 4,000 yard passer.
Random Question Of The Day
“What is the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?”
One time I ate pig intestines. It actually wasn’t as bad as it sounds. I was living in Philadelphia for 4 months on a gap year after high school.
The family I lived with came over from Myanmar a few years prior. We ate lots of very interesting foods. I’m always down to try new foods, but pig intestines are not a part of my daily diet. I haven't eaten it since.
That’s all for today!