Aaron Rodgers’ debut with the Jets went from the best day of his life to the worst, leading the future Hall of Famer to question whether he’ll ever be able to return to the field, he revealed in a recent podcast interview. I made it.
The Jets quarterback admitted for the first time how severely affected he was by the Achilles injury he sustained four plays into his first year in the Big Apple.
“I really thought, ‘This is it.’ I’m not coming back from this injury.” Rodgers said this during an appearance on the “I Can Fly” podcast.released on Tuesday.
Rodgers called the night he ran onto the field at MetLife Stadium carrying the American flag “one of the greatest highs of my sports career,” and was traded to the Jets, where he spent his entire 18-year career. He explained that his love for football has been reinvigorated. It’s in Green Bay.
“I had a great offseason in a new city, new town, with new teammates, a new organization, and a first-time owner. And I fell in love with the game I first fell in love with as a kid.”5 He’s a year old,” Rogers said. “It was so beautiful and special and deep and rich and delicious and just incredible.”
The Jets were four plays away from their long-awaited 2023 opener against the Bills on Sept. 11 when Rodgers went down with an Achilles injury and had to be carted off the field.
“And then there was one of the most heartbreaking nights of my life, when I performed four plays. Talk about ego death,” he said.
Rodgers admitted that after his injury, he initially relied on his close group of friends to keep his spirits up.
He got emotional about a conversation with a friend during the podcast.
“I said, ‘I need help.’ This is going to be really hard. I just need you to be there for me on those tough days when I don’t believe in what’s possible.” Rogers explained.
“It’s hard to ask for help.”
Jets home opener. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
After shifting his focus to surgery and recovery, concerns about never playing again disappeared.
Rodgers attempted to return to the field late in the season, reaching the point where he practiced on a limited basis, but called off his pursuit after the Jets were eliminated from playoff contention.
Rodgers said he would like to play two to four more years and expressed excitement about playing again next season, calling football his “happy place.”
As for his experience in 2023, Rodgers tried to look back on it through a positive lens.
“As awful as it was, and as much as it was the most heartbreaking thing that ever happened to me, all the miracles that happened along the way never would have happened,” he said.
