Only a cold person would have wished ill will for New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers when he didn’t get up off the turf at MetLife Stadium Monday night, in what looked like a harmless spin-around by Buffalo’s Leonard Floyd – that instead has set Rodgers back a year.
The soap opera that the sports world has followed since the conclusion of the 2022 NFL season got a new twist, and a sad one, on Monday when Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles on the play, just four plays into the Jets’ first series of the season opener against the Bills on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”
Since then, Rodgers had surgery on Wednesday, and on Friday, in an article on ESPN that can be found here (Jets’ Aaron Rodgers on his doubters – ‘Watch what I do’ – ESPN), the 39-year-old quarterback not only vows to return, but to return in spectacular fashion in the 2024 season.
“Give me the doubts, give me the timetables, give me all the things that you think can, should or will happen, because all I need is that one little extra percent of inspiration,” Rodgers told his friend, former NFL punter-turned-personality Pat McAfee, on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “That’s all I need. So, give me your doubts, give me your prognostications and then watch what I do.”
Rodgers’ injury has forced the Jets to turn back to Zach Wilson, who was accused of being immature, but looked anything but on Monday night, leading the Jets to a win over a sloppy Bills team that got a sub-par performance (at best) from their own quarterback Josh Allen.
For his part, in another ESPN piece (Jets’ Zach Wilson talks positive impact of ‘big bro’ Aaron Rodgers – ESPN), Wilson says imitating Rodgers isn’t the worst thing in the world.
“I feel like I’ve been trying to copy every little thing he’s doing, from his footwork to the coaching tips he has given us,” Wilson said in the story. “He’s done an amazing job, more than we could ask for as quarterbacks.”
They’ll have a challenge on Sunday: how to keep Wilson upright against Dallas and that ferocious pass rush that includes Micah Parsons.
