On a muggy, overcast Wednesday morning, a man on a postponed mission took his first steps toward becoming Comeback Player of the Year.
And now, on the road to a long-lost Super Bowl victory.
“The goal is New Orleans,” Aaron Rodgers said.
He was asked how realistic that goal was for this Jets team.
“The great thing is there are eight to 12 teams every year, maybe less, but there are eight to 12 teams that can actually make it and we’re one of those eight to 12 teams.”
A year ago, his prediction was 6 to 8 teams. “And you zoomed in on that?” he said with a smile.
But when asked if he thought the squad was better now, Rodgers replied: “I do. I think we’re solid. I think we’re better up front.” [LT Tyron Smith, RT Morgan Moses] “Offensively … and offense in general, I think we have the experience we have that year. Defensively we’re going to be good all the time.”
He waxed poetic about players at each level on defense, then added, “And then offensively, it’s on us to prove we can be a top-10 offense.”
You may have heard that the destination a year ago was Las Vegas, but that was postponed when Rodgers, then 39, ruptured his Achilles tendon on the fourth play of the season opener.
That’s why he’s the favorite to win Comeback Player of the Year and help the Jets at least end a 13-year playoff drought and at best hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of Super Bowl LIX. He needs to win it.
Don’t bet on him.
Refreshed by a highly publicized dream trip to Egypt during mandatory minicamp and always fueled by old skeptics (some realized, some imagined), Rodgers declared himself 100 percent recovered and nearing health.
“I think it’s going to take a little bit of time. … I feel great. The numbers are all the numbers I’ve had for 10 years in the West where I train, but my movements are exactly the same as last year. I’ve actually strengthened my squats a little bit. It’s just the repetitions that are needed. That last 5% to be 100% is just the mental part.”
He was encouraged by how he moved out of the pocket and found Allen Lazard for a touchdown on the first day of training camp.
“You don’t play a whole season, so you need a good training camp to be yourself. Even in the middle of my career, I felt like I had to reinvent myself in training camp and find the rhythm I needed. There was a time in 2020 when I remembered what I used to do, found my rhythm in the drops and had my best season. [48 touchdowns, five interceptions] It’s the beginning of my career. There will come a time during training camp when everything will start to fall into place.”
He is the straw that stirs the drink again.
“I think it’s important to bring energy and enthusiasm every day,” Rogers said. “I think you have to set the standard with how you are every day. You have to be engaged in meetings, be attentive and tap into the energy of your team.”
“The goal is New Orleans.
“So that’s where our focus has to be and that’s where our words and actions are. Everything we do on the field and in the meeting rooms has to be intentional. Not a moment has to be wasted. … And we have to set that standard and hold our guys accountable. … It’s not just me, it’s other guys have to take the leadership role.”
Garrett Wilson was one of the up-and-coming leaders Rodgers drafted.
“I told him at the meeting [Tuesday]”I think he has the talent and ability to be one of the best receivers in the league,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers fondly recalled a drive to Lambeau Field with former Packers great receiver Davante Adams.
“When he stepped on the field, he was going to be dominant,” Rodgers said. “On game day, it wasn’t a question of, ‘Can we win today?’ It was a question of, ‘How dominant am I going to be?'”
He rode a camel in Egypt, now he’ll overcome the odds to win Comeback Player of the Year, and his goal is New Orleans.
