Jets' Aaron Rodgers discusses early-season test on repaired Achilles

Roughly one year after New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers required surgery to repair a torn Achilles, he will play his third game in 11 days when the 1-1 Jets host the 1-1 New England Patriots on Thursday night. 

Rodgers, who turns 41 years old in December, spoke with reporters on Tuesday about the early-season test on his Achilles. 

"We love to play, so shorter time between games is great," Rodgers said, as shared by Peter Botte of the New York Post. "But it’s definitely tough on the body, tough on the week. It’s easier for a guy who’s 20 than a guy who’s 40. But I’ll be ready to go Thursday night and then look forward to the three days off." 

Rodgers understandably showed some signs of rust in the Week 1 32-19 loss at the San Francisco 49ers and in this past Sunday's 24-17 victory at the Tennessee Titans. According to ESPN stats, he enters Thursday ranked 18th in the NFL with a 47.8 adjusted QBR, 14th with a 92.2 passer rating and 25th with 343 passing yards. He tossed three touchdown passes with one interception over New York's first two games. 

"We’ve got to change a couple things," Rodgers said about the Jets opening the Titans game with three punts on three possessions, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "We’ve got to be a little sharper. We’ve got to start faster. We’ve been starting really slow the first two weeks, so we’ve got to start faster, put something together in the first 15 [plays], give our defense a chance to play with a lead."

As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Jets as 6.5-point favorites against a rebuilding Patriots team that surrendered an average of 16.5 points per game (fifth-best in the league) across the campaign's first two weeks. Rodgers will do all he can to focus on the task at hand during his first game at MetLife Stadium since he suffered the torn Achilles four offensive snaps into the Jets' 2023 season opener. 

"There will be emotion this week, as there always is during the anthem, and seeing our crowd, night game, the excitement driving up to the stadium and seeing the tailgate happening," Rodgers added during his comments. "There’s always emotion. If you love the game, there’s always emotion."