On the fourth offensive snap of last year’s season opener for the New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers felt a sharp pain. That’s his career, the veteran quarterback thought.
“‘This is it. You don’t come back from this injury,” Rodgers recalled of the negative self-talk.
We all know how this story ended. Or maybe we should say will end. Rodgers, who now is 40, ruptured his left Achilles as he crumpled to the turf during a sack last September. The symptoms are easily recognizable. The pain was sharp, in both the calf and the foot. He couldn’t bend his foot down. Rodgers couldn’t lift up on his toes no matter how hard he tried.
And he couldn’t help noting the irony. He’d enjoyed an invigorating off season to train for his first season with the Jets after spending 18 years with the Packers. Yet it ended with an injury, possibly one to derail his career. Rodgers talked about it all during a 150-minute interview this week with the I can Fly podcast.
“I had this incredible offseason experience in a new city, in a new town, with new teammates,” Aaron Rodgers said as he continued to click off other new experiences.
“A new organization, an owner for the first time, and really falling back in love with the game that I first fell in love with when I was 5 years old,” Rodgers said. “And it was absolutely beautiful and special and deep and rich and yummy, and just incredible.”
Aaron Rodgers asked his friends for help once he got home
That damn fourth snap. Rodgers described it as “one of the most heartbreaking nights of my life, when I played four plays. Talk about an ego death.”
In the interview, Rodgers revealed other, still-raw details. He flew back to Calfornia, where he lives in the offseason. He told them “I need help.” He added “tis is going to be really, tough. I just need you all to be there for me on the tough days when I stop believing it’s possible.’”
Rodgers had the surgery and within weeks, started dropping hints that he could return later in the season. The Jets did activate him so that he could start practicing with his fellow teammates. But he never played. While his recovery was quick, it still was ongoing. The Jets organization wasn’t going to risk their quarterback to reinjury. Rodgers didn’t want that, either, especially with his new team out of the playoff hunt.
These days, Rodgers and the Jets are a few weeks away from the start of OTAs. Mini camp follows in June, then there’s the opening of training camp in July.
“Football is my happy place,” Rodgers said. “That’s where I feel most in control of my athletic ability. I missed that last year, I really, really missed it. My heart was broken. I’m excited about taking the field one more time and — not life or death — going to battle with my guys.”
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