Chiefs' Travis Kelce addresses chat with Jets' Aaron Rodgers before jab

"...I just wanted to go up to him, I didn’t shoot him a text or anything like that, I just wanted to go up to him and just tell him how excited everybody was and how bummed out we were that you got banged up and needed to get surgery," Kelce explained about the interaction during the latest edition of his "New Heights" podcast, per Justin Tasch of the New York Post.

The Jets were chosen as this summer's team for the HBO "Hard Knocks" program and selected for a handful of primetime games largely because of Rodgers' presence. However, the future Hall of Famer went down with a torn Achilles in Week 1 and only rejoined the team to serve as a motivational speaker and spectator for the first time last week. 

During a Tuesday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers referred to Kelce as "Mr. Pfizer" after the All-Pro was featured in a commercial promoting Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine that aired during NFL games throughout Week 4. Rodgers famously misled the public about his vaccination status during the 2021 season and, per Ralph Ventre of FanNation's Jets Country, has repeatedly spoken out in favor of COVID-19 vaccine choice. 

It's unclear if the "New Heights" episode was recorded before or after Rodgers spoke with McAfee on Tuesday. 

"Watching 'Hard Knocks,' man, it was electric to see what Aaron Rodgers was going to do with that team, and not to say that they’re not going to be great 'cause he’s not there but I think that having Aaron there was going to be that much more entertaining for somebody that’s a fan of the game like I am," Kelce added during the podcast. "And you just hate to see the great ones go down with injury, that’s for sure. So, I just went up to him and told him we were all hurting for him and hopefully he gets healthy quick." 

Rodgers insists he wants to return to the playing field this season, meaning he and Kelce potentially could again meet at a stadium in January if both the Jets and Chiefs make the playoffs. Backup quarterback Zach Wilson played well in Rodgers' place but couldn't guide the Jets to an upset win over the reigning Super Bowl champions, as Kansas City defeated Gang Green 23-20 on Sunday night. 

1-3 New York plays at the 1-3 Denver Broncos this Sunday. Meanwhile, the 3-1 Chiefs play at the 1-3 Minnesota Vikings that same afternoon.