The New York Jets had a lot of hope heading into the 2023 season as they had Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback. Unfortunately for the Jets, that hope didn’t last very long. Rodgers tore his achilles just minutes into his debut with New York, and he had to miss the remainder of the season because of it. According to his teammate, Sauce Gardner, it had a big effect on the rest of the team.
Aaron Rodgers has been in the NFL for a long time and he has had a very successful career. He knows what he’s doing. He had the most experience on that Jets team, and because of that, there was a sense of confidence among when the team when Rodgers was healthy. After he got injured, that changed.
“When Aaron was on the field everybody felt confident in their ability, you know,” Sauce Gardner said during a recent appearance on The Pivot. “Whatever position they was, you had Garrett [Wilson], Garrett is always going to do his thing. Breece [Hall] is always going to do his thing you know. I’m talking about them because I know that they were in the same draft class as me, and I already know them, you know what I’m saying. But it’s like when he’s [Aaron Rodgers] on that field everybody wants to block for him, everybody wants to catch the ball for him, everybody wants to do that, and it’s like, you know, once he wasn’t there no more, it’s just certain things that like some people like relented a little bit, yeah that’s just the reality of the thing.”
The injury to Rodgers was difficult for everybody, but he has made an incredibly speedy recovery. Rodgers is certainly nearing the end of his career, and some people thought that the achilles tear could be the end. However, he has been working hard to get back on the field, and as long as he stays healthy, we should be able to see him play more in a Jets uniform.
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