Aaron Rodgers motivated to return at a high level and take Jets to the playoffs
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Aaron Rodgers moved well on Tuesday, eight months removed from surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon. He rifled the ball through tight windows to his receivers and threw lasers down the middle of the Jets’ practice field.
Rodgers’ health and how he returns from that major injury will be the biggest factors in whether the Jets end their 13-year postseason drought. The 40-year-old said the “heat is on all of us,” but especially him to play at an MVP level or the Jets will look much different next year.
“If I don’t do what I know I’m capable of doing we’ll all probably going to be out of here,” Rodgers said following the Jets’ second day of OTAs. “I like that kind of pressure.”
It’s no secret that coach Robert Saleh and his staff, as well as general manager Joe Douglas, are on the hot seat if the Jets don’t make the playoffs. A new regime might want to totally rebuild and bring in their own quarterback, so this too could be Rodgers’ last season with the Jets.
Rodgers wants to play a few more years, and he’s confident he can. The four-time MVP also has the supreme belief that he still can be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He’s motivated by proving people wrong and uses those who say he’s old and won’t be the same player coming back from a torn Achilles as fuel.
“I have a lot of motivation,” Rodgers said. “I want to play at a high level. I don’t want to go out as a bum. I want to be able to play. That’s why I put the work in and believe in my abilities. You guys saw it today. There’s no pads on, but I can obviously still throw with the best of them, I could still move around and look forward to my confidence and my ability to move getting back to where it was last year.
“I think all the individual possibilities for recognition will be great, but if I play the way I’m capable of playing we’re going to be playing for a lot more than that.”
The Jets have rebuilt the offensive line and reloaded in the receiving room to give Rodgers the protection and playmakers he needs to be successful.
Rodgers was sharp in both 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 sessions on Tuesday. He threw a long touchdown pass to Xavier Gipson and two red zone TDs to Allen Lazard and Garrett Wilson. Rodgers is not limited by the injury that happened four snaps into last season.
“He’s doing everything,” Saleh said. “There’s no limitations to what we’re asking him to do at practice.”
That’s a good sign for the Jets. Rodgers took part in practices late last year, running the scout team. He said the difference between now and then is “now I feel like I can do anything.”
“I feel really good,” Rodgers said. “It’s just about the mental part. These practices have been nice the last couple of days to feel what it’s like to be out there, to be moving around and not be thinking about it and see how I respond the next day.”
Everyone around Rodgers marvels at what he’s doing.
“Nothing’s going to stop him,” cornerback Sauce Gardner said.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich called it “amazing” and said that Rodgers “has found some sort of Fountain of Youth” because the football still zips and he’s moving so well.
“He’s got something figured out,” Ulbrich said. “He’s got the same personality that [ticks] you off during the week and you love on Sundays. I can’t wait to actually get an opportunity to be part of the season with him as opposed to four plays.”
It’s been an interesting offseason for Rodgers. He was close to becoming presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate. Rodgers said it was a possibility and that he had two options.
“They were retire and be his VP or keep playing,” Rodgers said, “and I want to keep playing.”
The pressure is on Rodgers to play and play at a high level. Some jobs, including his own, depend on it.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
