Mention to Aaron Rodgers that what he is trying to do is unprecedented, and a big smile comes across his face.
Coming back from a torn Achilles at 40 years old in the NFL?
That is something that has not been done before, and the Jets quarterback is welcoming the challenge to not just come back, but to play at the high level he is accustomed to.
“I have a lot of motivation,” Rodgers said Tuesday after the Jets’ second OTA practice. “I love the game. I want to play at a high level. I don’t want to go out, as I’ve said before, as a bum. I want to be able to play. That’s why I put the work in. I believe in my abilities. You guys saw it today. There’s no pads on, but I can obviously still throw with the best of them.”
Indeed, Rodgers put on a show during the OTA practice, where he was under no restrictions.
Yes, they were in shorts and there was no contact, but you’d never know Rodgers is eight months removed from a torn left Achilles tendon.
He zipped passes all over the field, connecting on a long pass with Xavier Gipson, then a tight-window touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson.
“It’s amazing,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “He has found some sort of fountain of youth.”
Rodgers’ arrival last year in a trade from the Packers was a jolt of energy and optimism for the organization. That then turned to despair when he was lost for the season after four plays.
Now, the hope is back and Rodgers is thinking big.
“I think all the individual possibilities for recognition will be great, but if I play the way I’m capable of playing, we’re going to be playing for a lot more than that,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers also knows the alternative is going to be equally impactful.
If the Jets fail this season, there will be massive changes in 2025.
“I think if I don’t do what I know I’m capable of doing, we’re all probably going to be out of here,” Rodgers said. “I like that kind of pressure, though. It’s a tough market to play in. It’s not for everybody. I relish that opportunity.”
Pressure to produce is nothing new for Rodgers, who faced it in 2008 when he replaced Brett Favre in Green Bay then as the Packers became perennial contenders in the 2010s before sliding a bit late in the decade.
“As you get older in the league, if you don’t perform, they’re going to get rid of you or bring in the next guy to take over,” Rodgers said. “I mean, it happened in Green Bay. I’m a few years older than I was back then. I expect to play at a high level. I expect us to be productive and competitive, and all that stuff will take care of itself.”