New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers are ‘reluctantly preparing’ to play in the new Hard Knocks series for the new season…despite telling the NFL they DON’T want to!
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The New York Jets are said to be “reluctantly preparing” to appear on HBO and the NFL’s new Hard Knocks series ahead of the upcoming 2023-24 NFL season, despite letting the league know that they have no interest in serving as a show. focal point.
Aaron Rodgers and Co., the Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints and Washington Commanders were the frontrunners to air on the show this year.
Teams forced to participate include teams without a head coach, teams that have been absent from the playoffs in the past two years, and teams that have not appeared on the show in the past ten years.
The Jets, Saints and Bears have all told league officials that they do not want to be in this year’s edition of the show. Earlier in June, Jets head coach Robert Saleh indicated his team is not interested in appearing in front of cameras ahead of the season.
On the other hand, the commanders volunteered to appear if assigned.
New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers will appear on the show in its first season at Florham Park
However, NFL officials preferred to wait until the sale of the team to a group led by Josh Harris — owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils — is finalized. All 32 NFL owners plan to meet on July 20 and possibly vote to approve the transaction.
If the deal goes through, Washington could become the seasonal option this summer.
League officials reportedly consulted all the other 28 teams except the Jets, Saints, Bears and Commanders, but none of them volunteered to volunteer.
The Detroit Lions were asked if they would like to appear on the show for a second consecutive time, but the franchise declined after making an appearance in last year’s edition.
The Jets are not technically allowed to refuse participation, although the NFL usually does not require a team to participate if it does not want to.
On the other hand, most NFL fans would love to have the Jets feature in the series.
With expectations to compete for a Super Bowl in what will be Rodgers’ first season at Florham Park, “Gang Green” seems to be the best fit for the show compared to all of the other four teams eligible to compete and the 28 others in the competition.
New York made one appearance on ‘Hard Knocks’ in 2010 and the franchise even earned a Sports Emmy for his performance. At the time, the team’s quarterback was Mark Sanchez and the head coach was Rex Ryan.
The annual summer series began in 2001, with an in-season spin-off also running since 2021.