East Rutherford, NJ December 3, 2023 — Aaron Rodgers of the Jets on the sidelines, late in the second half. The Atlanta Falcons topped the NY Jets 13-8 at MetLife Stadium on December 3, 2023 in East Rutherford, NJ. credits: Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK Aaron Rodgers wanted to quarterback the New York Jets at the end of last season, for whatever reason, probably to prove that he could bounce back from a ruptured Achilles tendon faster than anyone ever has.
Now, Jets head coach Robert Saleh has told the media that Rodgers is unlikely to play in the preseason.
Saleh is trying to put gently what the rest of us already know, and that’s the fact that we are probably not going to see Rodgers in a Jets uniform until September 9 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Rodgers is 6-3 in his career against the 49ers. However, it would’ve been nice to ease him back into action during the preseason against an incredibly weak schedule, including the Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers and New York Giants.
Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment. Those are some cupcake teams. And typically, teams aren’t really trying that hard in the preseason anyway.
Instead, Rodgers will get his first crack back at the NFL against a hungry 49ers team fresh off a Super Bowl loss. Surely, Nick Bosa and that defensive front will try to capitalize on every opportunity to get after Rodgers in the first Monday Night Football game of the season.
This furthers the point that the NFL preseason is pretty much a sham. A star quarterback rehabbing from an injury at 40 years old is not even playing against bad teams.
What will that mean for other quarterbacks returning from injury, such as Deshaun Watson or Joe Burrow?
We know these teams handle situations differently, but just because football is back on Thursday for the Hall of Fame Game, don’t get too excited. Caleb Williams is already out despite pushing to play, and the Chicago Bears are resting most of their starters. Real football is not going to be back for another month, as these teams and players simply do not value those preseason reps any more.
Rodgers was injured less than 10 plays into his career with the Jets on Monday Night Football last season. The world was waiting to see what he’d look like in a different green jersey after spending 18 long seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
The world will have to wait even longer now. Rodgers won’t be working with new wide receiver Mike Williams in the preseason. He won’t be getting real game reps with the team that supposedly has AFC Championship aspirations. Instead, the Jets will shelve their prized quarterback to avoid another catastrophic injury, and at the end of the day, that’s a fair call to make.
So cling onto your grainy training camp practice videos and buckle the hell up for September 9, where we’ll try again to get more than just a glimpse of Rodgers in a Jets uniform.
