When the Jets take the field for Monday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, it’ll not only mark the beginning of the regular season, but it’ll also be Aaron Rodgers’ first time in action since his devastating Achilles injury.
The superstar quarterback was sidelined just four offensive snaps into the season opener last year against the Buffalo Bills, and it ended up completely derailing the organization’s championship aspirations.
But after working throughout the offseason, Rodgers is finally back and he’s ready to get under center.
“I feel good,” he told SNY’s Jeane Coakley in an exclusive sit-down interview. “My body feels good. It was one of the tougher camps in the last few years with different challenges, but I practiced every day that they let me practice and I’m feeling really good.
“With all the ups and downs last year, there’s going to be a lot of appreciation for being able to be back on the field. There were definitely thoughts after it happened that it was going to be it, so to go back on the field will be a sweet and emotional moment for me.”
With Rodgers back at the helm, general manager Joe Douglas and the rest of the front office did everything they could to improve the weapons around him this offseason.
They completely revamped the offensive line, bringing in numerous established veterans, including eight-time Pro Bowl LT Tyron Smith, and added playmaker Mike Williams to complement star wideout Garrett Wilson on the outside.
Breece Hall, whom Rodgers called a “three-down back,” is also fully healthy, and New York has some young talent developing as well after spending a first-rounder on OT Olu Fashanu and a third-rounder on WR Malachi Corley.
When you pair all of those pieces with Rodgers and an already top-ranked defense, the expectation is that Gang Green will finally be able to end their frustrating 13-year playoff drought.
It remains to be seen if they’ll have enough to get the job done, but the 40-year-old understands how much it would mean to be able to accomplish such a feat for this fanbase and organization.
“It would be special,” he said. “You win a title in New York, you go down in history like very few other places, so there’s a lot of special feeling around the organization. It’s a proud organization, a proud fanbase, hopefully we can give them a lot to cheer about.”
