The New York Jets fear their superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers has suffered a torn Achilles after the playmaker had to be taken off the field during his first drive in his first game with the “Gang Green.”
Though the Jets, to much surprise, defeated the Buffalo Bills 22-16 in overtime of Monday night’s contest, it is likely to come as little relief for a franchise seeking to be playoff contenders this year, with head coach Robert Saleh saying of Rodgers’s injury after the game, “It’s not good.”
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Rodgers, 39, is perhaps the biggest name in football after the retirement of Tom Brady earlier this year. And while he has likely been surpassed by younger quarterbacks such as Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow in current abilities, his name and talent holds such prestige that his signing with the Jets in the spring marked a historic day for the franchise.
The Jets have been a losing organization for years, with their last winning season coming in 2015. Rodgers, a Super Bowl champion and considered one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, not only brought back relevance to the Gang Green, but he also brought with him expectations. And while most pundits were not picking the Jets as serious Super Bowl contenders, you probably wouldn’t get far telling that to the team’s fans.
Rodgers’s injury comes as a crushing blow for a franchise starving for success, and all they can do is wait for the results of the MRI.
An Achilles rupture is considered among the most serious injuries in sports. A timeline for recovery to be able to run and jump again will likely take about six to nine months, according to the Hospital for Special Surgery. That would take Rodgers out for the entire season.
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For some, Rodgers is less known for his on-the-field play than he is for his off-the-field actions. Rodgers made headlines in 2021 for saying he was unvaccinated against COVID-19, allergic to the vaccine, and was in the “crosshairs of the woke mob.” The enigmatic quarterback has rubbed some people the wrong way with his actions, while others have embraced him for speaking his mind.
The Jets will next head to Dallas to face the Cowboys in what is likely to be a difficult game for them. They also play in what many see as the toughest division in football, with the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills expected to be good and the New England Patriots at least expected to be competitive. But Monday’s win without their leading man was a start.
