Aaron Rodgers’ highly-anticipated regular-season debut with the New York Jets came to an end after just four snaps. Rodgers went down with an Achilles injury early in the first quarter of Monday Night Football clash against the Buffalo Bills and will likely be out for the remainder of the 2023 campaign.
The injury came on the Jets’ first possession of the game. Rodgers was trying to avoid a sack from Bills’ defensive end Leonard Floyd when his foot got stuck in the ground. He was slow to get up after and needed assistance to get to the sidelines.
Speaking with reporters after the game, which the Jets’ won in overtime, head coach Robert Saleh said that Rodgers would have an MRI on Tuesday but didn’t sound overly optimistic.
“The MRI is probably going to confirm what we think is going to happen, so prayers tonight,” Saleh said. “But it’s not good.”
This is a tough blow for the Jets, who had Super Bowl aspirations for 2023 after acquiring Rodgers in a trade with the Green Bay Packers back in April. Now, the team will once again have to turn to Zach Wilson, who struggled to adapt to the NFL since being selected as the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Rodgers, on the other hand, faces an uncertain future. He already thought about retiring after the 2022 season, and a major injury like this might prompt him to consider walking away once again.
