Former Jets QB: Aaron Rodgers to blame for season-ending injury
Former New York Jets quarterback and current "The NFL Today" analyst Boomer Esiason suggested that Aaron Rodgers need only look in the mirror regarding the season-ending torn Achilles that Rodgers suffered during Monday's home game versus the Buffalo Bills.
"It’s a quick pass," Esiason explained about the campaign-altering play during Tuesday's edition of the WFAN "Boomer And Gio" program, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "(Offensive tackle) Duane Brown is basically diving at the legs of the defensive end. It’s a cut-block. Aaron’s got his guy. He’s wide open. Just throw it. I don’t know why he didn’t throw it."
The Athletic's Dianna Russini and Zack Rosenblatt reported Tuesday morning that "Rodgers didn't like the play-calls involving cut-blocks and expressed as much to Jets coaches," including offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett previously served as Rodgers' OC with the Green Bay Packers from 2019 through the 2021 season and, presumably, should've known the future Hall of Famer's preferences.
Esiason didn't fault the cut-block maneuver for Rodgers' injury.
"I go back to Tom Brady…there’s a reason he lasted as long as he did," Esiason noted. "He called a play, he knew where he was going with it, wouldn’t hold onto it and he threw it."
Some have blamed the new FieldTurf Core surface installed at MetLife Stadium for Rodgers going down with such a serious lower-body setback. Esiason instead couldn't understand why the 39-year-old unnecessarily held onto the football for so long before he took an avoidable sack.
"You could see they have two slant patterns on the outside, and if he looks left where Brown is cutting down the legs of the defensive end so he can’t knock the ball down," Esiason added about the play. "That’s what he’s taught to do - just throw it, let it go and this doesn’t happen. I talk about self-preservation all the time when it comes to quarterbacks. The longer you hold onto the ball, the more likely you are to get hurt."
Rodgers' Achilles may have been a ticking timebomb that would've blown later during Monday's game even if he had thrown the ball, but he may spend the fall and winter months re-living that particular moment in his head as he contemplates his future beyond this season. For now, the 1-0 Jets must again promote 2021 first-round draft pick Zach Wilson to the top of the depth chart, this time for Sunday's game at the 1-0 Dallas Cowboys.
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