Just days before his 20th NFL season and nearly one year removed from a ruptured Achilles tendon, the Jets quarterback spoke excitedly Thursday about opening the season Monday night against the 49ers.
“I have a lot of pride in my performance,” Rodgers said. “When I take the field, I expect greatness because I’ve done it before and that’s kind of standard to hold myself to.”
That’s what the Jets are counting on. The organization has been waiting to see Rodgers’ greatness for a while now. The Jets acquired Rodgers in a trade with the Packers back in April 2023. The expectations were high going into last season and then crashed to the ground when Rodgers’ left Achilles snapped on the fourth play of the season opener against the Bills.
Rodgers missed the entire 2023 season despite an attempted December comeback. Now, the Jets are hoping to finally see what the four-time MVP can do for their team. Rodgers joked Thursday that he may feel a little joy once the fifth snap of Monday’s game comes.
“I mean, there might be a little smirk after the fourth [snap],” Rodgers said. “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
The Jets enter this season with high hopes. They believe they are a Super Bowl contender and that is largely because of Rodgers’ presence. The 40-year-old has looked outstanding in training camp. But now he has to face a live defense. The 49ers are the defending NFC champions and are expected to again be one of the best teams in football.
Rodgers said he learned a lesson from former Packers coach Mike McCarthy about how hard dealing with success is.
“I think what he meant was he just can’t ride the highs too high and then the whole world’s crashing down after a tough game,” Rodgers said. “Regardless of what happens on Monday, we win the headlines going to be, you know, we’re going to Super Bowl, we lose same old Jets. So I think we need to get away from some of those outside themes and trust that the program.”
Rodgers delivered a similar message at the end of last year after the Jets went 7-10 with backups Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian at quarterback. Rodgers told the Jets to “flush the B.S.” but then made offseason headlines when he was reportedly a vice presidential candidate and then skipped the team’s mandatory minicamp to take a trip to Egypt.
Those offseason storylines are in the past now and Rodgers’ teammates and coaches have done nothing but heap praise on him this summer.
“He’s an unbelievable teammate,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “The guys in the locker room love him. They look up to him. They seek advice from him. I noticed it the other day. I shot him a text. I think it’s fascinating the way he interacts with the D line. Just the way he interacts with everybody. He’s the ultimate teammate. I think his leadership has been invaluable to the organization.”
Saleh has spoken about not just how well Rodgers has thrown the ball this summer but also his movement skills.
“I think he’s in a great place, not just mentally but physically. He looks awesome,” Saleh said. “He’s not a 40-year-old quarterback. He’s going to be just fine.”
Rodgers has long thrived on proving his critics wrong. Now, he has a chance to do something unprecedented and return from an Achilles tear to play quarterback at 40 years old.
“I’ve always kind of played with something on my shoulder.” Rodgers said. “You got to, you know, manufacture things from time to time. But yeah, I mean, it’s kind of goes back to the prove it. Who would I need to prove it to? Just myself at this point”
Rodgers said “of course” when asked if the Super Bowl is the goal this season and then sent another message to his teammates about staying steady.
“We can’t ride these waves of emotion or frustration or outside narratives or any of these things,” he said “We got to keep this thing very tight. You know, we can’t have any leaks or people jumping ship. We’ve got to realize it’s going to be a long season.”
