After a Crash-and-Burn 2023 Season, Rodgers Hopes to Take the Jets to New Heights

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets talks to reporters after training camp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, N.J., on July 26, 2023. Rich Schultz/Getty Images

One thousand, one hundred, and one—that’s how many offensive snaps the New York Jets had last season, and offensive guard Laken Tomlinson was the only player who was on the field for all of them.

However, most Jets fans can remember only the four offensive snaps that Aaron Rodgers played before snapping his Achilles’ tendon in a Week 1 Monday Night Football game.

It will have been almost exactly one year when Rodgers takes the field again next week, as the Jets will again begin their NFL season with another Monday Night Football contest in Week 1.

They will visit the San Francisco 49ers, which is a bit fitting as Rodgers was born and raised in Northern California and rooted for the Niners while growing up. Those four plays he lasted in 2023 will be in the back of his mind, and maybe even the front of his mind as well. Rodgers indicated as much when he was asked if he’ll take a moment to reflect on the past calendar year once he completes his fourth offensive snap on Monday night.

“Yeah. I mean, there might be a little smirk after the fourth one,” Rodgers told reporters after Thursday’s practice. “I’m sure [the cameras will] catch it, but I’m in a good mind space. You know, I really had a year to remember in a lot of ways, some really difficult things with some great things as well.

“So there’s always a perspective moment during the anthem to collect your thoughts and kind of send gratitude out to the universe for the opportunity to stand on the field in pads. So I'll be really excited about that.”

Rodgers’ past year was about as eventful as it could be considering he didn’t play. All during the season, he flirted with potentially returning to the field if the Jets were in contention, which is something that no athlete who has torn their Achilles has ever done within the same season as the injury. He was also threatened with legal action from TV host Jimmy Kimmel after Rodgers made comments suggesting Kimmel had ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

During the offseason, Rodgers’ name was floated as a possible vice presidential running mate for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Then, once training began, Rodgers infamously skipped the Jets’ mandatory minicamp, instead choosing to vacation in Egypt, and was fined by the team.

Thus, Rodgers will be relieved once he can take the field again, and he’ll also be anxious to line up against the 49ers. It was 19 years ago that San Francisco held the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft with a need at quarterback. Many thought they would stay local and take the NorCal kid in Rodgers, but they elected to draft Alex Smith instead, with Rodgers falling to the Green Bay Packers with the 24th pick. Nineteen years apparently isn’t enough time to heal some wounds, as the quarterback was asked if there’s any added emotion in playing the franchise that passed on him in the draft.

“Yeah, I mean it’s all different people. I’ve outlasted a lot of the people over there,” responded a smiling Rodgers.

Rodgers isn’t just returning from injury, as the 40-year-old is also battling Father Time as well as critics, based on the last season he played more than four snaps. During his final year with the Packers in 2022, Rodgers was coming off winning back-to-back MVP awards but his production dropped precipitously. He had the worst passer rating of his career, averaged his fewest passing yards per game, had his second-fewest touchdown passes over a full season, and threw the second-most interceptions of his career.

Even if Rodgers plays 1,101 snaps like Tomlinson did last year, Jets fans likely wouldn’t be happy with that type of season from the quarterback. Rodgers knows that and is out to prove that his last full season was more of an outlier than a downward trend. With questions regarding his current ability, Rodgers was asked if he was carrying around a chip on his shoulder.

“How do you not?” Rodgers replied. “I’ve always kinda played with something on my shoulder. You’ve got to manufacture things from time to time, but it kinda goes back to the ‘prove it.’ Who would I need to prove to? Just myself at this point, but I have a lot of pride in my performance. So when I take the field, I expect greatness because I’ve done it before. So that’s kinda the standard I hold myself to.”

Greatness is also what Jets fans are expecting after the team traded away a first-round pick, two second rounders and a fifth rounder to acquire Rodgers in April 2023. The Jets are betting favorites to win the AFC East and have the ninth-shortest odds to win the Super Bowl. The journey to Super Bowl LIX begins in San Francisco on Monday, then continues to Nashville as the Jets visit the Titans in Week 2 before the team has its first home game versus the New England Patriots in Week 3.