A look at why the Jets’ Aaron Rodgers and Sauce Gardner handshake has become so popular, explaining the viral gesture
How quickly Aaron Rodgers connects with his new Jets receivers remains to be seen. Although Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb followed Rodgers to New York, it wouldn’t be surprising if the four-time MVP took some time to get used to his new surroundings. Rodgers does have a pair of familiar faces to work with.
Aaron Rodgers and Sauce Gardner handshake gesture meaning explained as GIF goes viral
There is no question that Rodgers connects well with a new teammate who he won’t actually play on the pitch with. In the offseason, second-year corner Sauce Gardner made an immediate impression on Rodgers by showing the city to his new quarterback and making jokes with the veteran, who is now 39 years old.
Nothing more clearly demonstrates Rodgers and Gardner’s friendship than their new handshake, despite the fact that they like eating out and playing hoops together.
Aaron Rodgers-Sauce Gardner handshake, explained
Aaron Rodgers and Sauce Gardner just did this on national TV…. We’re in a different time now.
I love it. 😂 pic.twitter.com/0QLXVVDKRd
— Black Mamba (@MambaSmith34) September 12, 2023
Before Rodgers took the field during training camp, he showed a bond with the rookie cornerback who made headlines last season for sporting a cheesehead cap at Lambeau Field. In June, cameras caught Rodgers and Gardner practising their new handshake, and in August, during training camp, “Hard Knocks” cameras were rolling as they demonstrated the motion.
Rodgers and Gardner make the gesture of smoking a joint of marijuana while touching their thumbs and index fingers together. The handshake might not only be a reference to marijuana, given that Rodgers has been open about using the psychedelic drug Ayahuasca.
Gardner told FanSided in August that the seasoned quarterback invented the handshake, though Rodgers hasn’t remarked on its origin. Gardner stated, citing instances of other sportsmen imitating the celebration:
He came up with it. It’s nothing too serious because I’ve never smoked or drunk a day in my life. We were just having a little fun. I can’t even explain it to you — you would have to ask Aaron.”
“For the New York Jets, expectations have never been higher,” Liev Schreiber said during the handshake scene in “Hard Knocks.”
Another Jet with a distinctive Rodgers handshake is Gardner. In their passionate conversation, Rodgers and RB Michael Carter use considerably more of their bodies than simply their hands.