At the first Jet’s game of the 2023 season, star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, had a season changing injury in the mere fourth play of the game.
On September 11th, 2023, the New York Jets played against the Buffalo Bills at each of their debut games in the new season. Jets quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, who was recently traded from the Green Bay Packers, started his first season with a new team off with a bang, and not a good one.
Before Rodgers even completed a play, he was on the ground. Trying to avoid a hit by Bills defender number 56, Leonard Floyd, Rodgers backs away and lands on his foot. This jolting motion made an immediate impact on Rodgers, causing him to grab and hold his injured foot, stopping the play.
As soon as the injury occurred, many players and even fans could tell something was wrong and that the injury could be very serious. Sure enough, when Rodgers was taken into the blue medical tent on the field, he was carried out on a cart after minutes of inspection and examination, (apnews.com).
When North sophomore, Ivan Hernandez shares his opinions on Rodgers’ injury and whether or not he will return next season, he says, “No, because he tore his achilles and that’s a career ending injury but probably next season he will,”. Many fans, like Ivan, are worried about this season’s game time but are confident Rodgers can be back next season.
Speculation of an achilles injury was unfortunately confirmed the next day, September 12th, when the results of an MRI showed a torn achilles tendon in Rodgers’ left foot. This injury will definitely be season-ending for 39 year old Rodgers, many fans even worry it will be career ending. However, a new contract, signed by Rodgers, states that he will in fact be back for round two, next season (apnews.com). This contract ensures that Rodgers will stay with the Jets for the rest of this season, and that he will join again next season once he is healed.
Taking the season-ending injury of the star quarterback into consideration, the rest of the Jets actually did very well in this game. The Jets won 22-16 against the Bills, going into overtime and scoring the winning touchdown to end the game. Although Rodgers cannot play the rest of the season, it is reassuring to know the Jets can reach success as a team, even without him.
“I feel like he’s going to heal up this season and return with a purpose next season…the healing process will be slower for sure because of his age and an injury like that could be hard to recover from,” junior Calvin Rivers says.
Encouraging his teammates on, Rodgers was seen waiting on the sidelines of the Jets and Chiefs game on October 1st. While Rodgers was using crutches to get around, he was still moving and continued to speak to his coaches and teammates throughout the game. While still wearing a brace on his ankle, he is confident his recovery will go quite quickly.
During an appearance on, “The Pat McAfee Show,” he says the normal time to be in a boot is around 6 weeks and he has been wearing one for 13 days. Also on his appearance, he discusses his healing time. According to jsonline.com, Rodgers spoke about being a little worried because the average time for an achilles injury to heal is from 4-6 months, but with physical therapies, it could take a year.
Updates are constantly being given about Rodgers’ recovery which gives fans, coaches, and fellow players some peace of mind. Wishing a beneficial and speedy recovery to Aaron Rodgers this season, good luck Jets!
