Just four plays into his regular-season debut with the New York Jets, star quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a ruptured Achilles.
The Jets still went on to win their Week 1 matchup against the Buffalo Bills by a final score of 22-16, however. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson stepped in for the injured Rodgers and threw for 140 yards and one touchdown in the victory.
Rodgers recently revealed that he hasn’t shut the door on potentially returning to the field for the Jets sometime this season.
"As Kevin Garnett said, 'anything is possible'"
– Aaron Rodgers on if he can return this year
(via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/2OHCCxiV93
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) September 15, 2023
“I’m not gonna make any of those statements — I don’t feel like that’s fair to myself,” Rodgers said when asked if he’s going to come back this season. “I think, as Kevin Garnett said, ‘Anything’s possible.'”
Rodgers was selected with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft after two seasons playing college football at the University of California, Berkeley. He threw for 2,500-plus yards and 19-plus touchdowns in each of his two seasons as a Golden Bear.
Rodgers’ contributions during his final season with the team, the 2004 season, translated into a whole lot of wins for the Golden Bears. They finished the season with an excellent 10-2 record but lost to Texas Tech University in the Holiday Bowl by a final score of 45-31. Rodgers finished with 246 passing yards and one passing touchdown in the loss compared to one interception.
The 6-foot-2 quarterback has played for two teams — the Green Bay Packers and Jets — across his 19 seasons in the NFL. He threw for 3,695 yards and 26 touchdowns in 17 games played with the Packers during the 2022 regular season (all starts).
Rodgers spent 18 seasons of his NFL career with the Packers before he was traded to the Jets in April of 2023 in exchange for four draft picks.
Arguably the 39-year-old’s best season in the NFL came during the 2010 season. He totaled 3,922 passing yards and 28 passing touchdowns in 15 games played during the regular season (all starts).
But most importantly, Rodgers led the 2010 Packers to a Super Bowl victory. Green Bay beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in the Super Bowl, and Rodgers threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
Jets fans shouldn’t expect Rodgers to make a return to the field this season, but if he does, it would certainly make for must-see television.
