WARE, England — Aaron Rodgers talked some football but mostly relationships — those with coach Robert Saleh and former teammate Davante Adams, in particular — after the New York Jets landed in London on Friday.
The four-time NFL MVP even tossed in some local lingo, saying ''knackered'' and ''gobsmacked'' during his 11-minute session with reporters ahead of Sunday's game against the undefeated Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Rodgers denied he and Saleh have any sort of rift, saying ''there's some driving force'' outside the Jets' facility trying to ''put a wedge between Robert and I.''
Pre-snap penalties in a 10-9 loss to Denver last week led Saleh to question ''whether or not we're good enough or ready to handle all the cadence ″ that Rodgers uses to confuse defenses. Saleh later clarified he meant the entire operation of the offense, not specifically Rodgers' cadence. He said the Jets are ''always going to push the envelope'' with cadence because of Rodgers' success with it.
''Cadence has been a weapon," Rodgers said at the team's hotel north of London. "I think he kind of went in and got a chance Monday to kind of respond to all of that.''
The 40-year-old quarterback also made it clear he and Saleh are not at odds.
''We're really good friends," he said. "We enjoy each other. We spend time almost every day, I'm in his office talking about things, 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.''