SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Aaron Rodgers won't be running out of the tunnel carrying an American flag to thunderous applause at a rapturous MetLife Stadium on Monday night. But after all the darkness that has dogged him — the demoralizing moment after his ruptured Achilles, the self-doubt that dogged him as he began his rehabilitation, the 40th birthday he wasn't able to celebrate on the field with his teammates — he'll be…
Aaron Rodgers is here.
A year later, Aaron Rodgers is coming through the tunnel at Levi's Stadium, struggling to defy the cruel football gods and skeptics who refuse to believe there's a Super Bowl-like life after 40, unless you're Tom Brady.
Aaron Rodgers emerged here, a year later, still harboring the belief that he could repeat his Hall of Fame feat and carry the burden of a struggling franchise all the way to New Orleans and Super Bowl 59.
A year later, Aaron Rodgers is burning to prove, not to others but to himself, that he is still the right man and the right person to save the Woody Johnson-Joe Douglas-Robert Saleh regime.
The Comeback Kid — 40 years old.
“When you're 39 or 40 years old and you tear your Achilles in Week 1 and you recover as quickly as he did and have the ambition to come back and put a ring on every single finger in this room, if that happens, it'll be the greatest comeback of all time,” veteran defensive tackle Solomon Thomas told The Post.
He didn't need to come back. He could have reconsidered retirement. It takes a man of steel and unwavering self-confidence to accept and even embrace the responsibility entrusted to him — and to continue in the desperate pursuit of a second Super Bowl championship, something that will be even more elusive for him and the Jets organization.
“Monday night is going to be fun,” Rodgers told his teammates multiple times all week.
Remember that long, but sweet honeymoon? When everyone fell in love with Rodgers in “Hard Knocks,” when Rodgers was cheered on by Celebrity Row at the Knicks-Rangers game at the Garden, when Rodgers rocked out at a Taylor Swift concert at MetLife Stadium, when Rodgers went to see “MJ the Musical” with teammates, when Broadway's Joe Namath offered to retire his No. 12 jersey so Rodgers could keep the one he wore in Green Bay, when Rodgers was gifted his former Packers teammates to come along, when Rodgers showed his commitment by accepting a $35 million pay cut.
The honeymoon lasted for a total of four plays.
Then, finally, it feels like deja vu all over again, and playoff-starved fans begin to hold their collective breath.
Because all of their 2024 eggs are in Aaron Rodgers' basket.
“The Future is Now” Basket.
A playoff or bust basket.
From the moment he stepped into the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, Rodgers raised the bar for everyone in the organization. He's been franchise quarterback, part-time GM, head coach and offensive coordinator. When he speaks, everyone listens. He's treated like football royalty by ownership, the front office, coaches and teammates.
All is well.
Maybe this time we can start with the powerhouse 49ers and see what all the fuss is about.
Maybe he can be the maverick that Brady was when he led the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl in his first season with the team.
Nobody knows for sure.
The burden of proof is on him: His fourth and final MVP season came in 2021. 2022 will be his first year throwing for fewer than 4,000 yards in five years.
It was inspiring for his teammates to watch Rodgers try to become a medical marvel in time to lead a playoff attack that never materialized, and surreal for anyone who calls themselves a Jet, watching him thread the needle with an arm that defies logic and a brilliant football mind that defies defense.
He has thrown 7,661 regular season passes.
He threw one pass in the regular season as a Jet, one of which was incomplete.
