ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Aaron Rodgers had something he wanted to say at the end of his media availability this week.
The Jets quarterback had spent 10 minutes addressing his future, the team’s motivation going forward and Garrett Wilson’s frustration.
Now, Rodgers had something positive he wanted to say.
“I want to finish with a specific shout-out for a guy who does it right all the time, not just some of the time, all the time, and that’s [safety] Jarius Monroe, who just got elevated to the active roster,” Rodgers said. “So, shout-out to Jarius, he’s a phenomenal young player.”
It was unusual to hear a prominent player like Rodgers go out of his way to shine the spotlight on someone who is essentially the 53rd man on the roster.
But Monroe is an unusual guy.
The 24-year-old undrafted free agent from Tulane has a big personality, and that has shown itself in the locker room, on the practice field and in the meeting rooms.
So, when interim coach Jeff Ulbrich called Monroe up in front of the team Tuesday and told him he was being signed from the practice squad to the active roster, the team erupted in cheers.
“It was amazing, man,” Monroe said before acknowledging how nervous he was. “I was sweating like crazy.”
Then, Monroe heard what Rodgers said about him to the media.
“It meant a lot,” Monroe said. “That’s a Hall of Fame quarterback, also just a great human being outside of everything. I feel like a lot of times people don’t know who he actually is. He’s actually an amazing human being, an amazing teammate. He has a lot of the guys in this building rooting for him just because of the person he is. He’s a great leader. I follow him every day. We have our own banter, competition at practice, me being on the scout team all year.
“Just working my tail off and him taking notice of that, that means a lot to me being that he’s such a great person.”
Monroe said he tries to make his teammates smile.
He believes mental health is important for players to perform well.
“I try to bring that positivity to my teammates every day,” Monroe said. “I feel like that’s my role right now. I want to be a star one day. I feel like I will be the best in the world one day. Right now, that being my role, I take that very seriously.”
Ulbrich said Monroe has had a great effect on his teammates.
“It’s crazy to think of an undrafted free-agent safety to have the impact on a team like this,” Ulbrich said, “filled with so many exceptional players with exceptional careers and for him to have touched every single human being on this team is, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like it.”
The Jets activated K Greg Zuerlein off of injured reserve Saturday, and he will be their kicker Sunday in Buffalo.
They also elevated DL Bruce Hector from the practice squad.
