The 2023 New York Jets may have won the opening game of the season but lost the season as quarterback Aaron Rodgers has officially suffered a complete tear of his left Achilles tendon and will miss the entire season.
#Jets QB Aaron Rodgers does, in fact, have a torn Achilles, the MRI has confirmed. He’s out for the season after just four snaps. pic.twitter.com/Yt44roJvTs
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 12, 2023
He suffered the injury four offensive snaps into his Jets career and was immediately helped off the field and carted to the locker room. Coach Robert Saleh stated in the post-game press conference that backup Zach Wilson will be the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season but do not be surprised if general manager Joe Douglas is working the phones with free agents and looking at trade scenarios.
The only positive to come out of this is the Jets retain their 2024 first-round pick, as Aaron Rodgers will not reach the 65 percent of plays threshold. This injury could be something that ends the career of the four-time NFL MVP, as returning from a torn Achilles is something not many players have done before.
The Jets do have some salary cap space to work with, as the 40-year-old quarterback restructured his contract in the offseason. Now, it will be interesting to see if any quarterback joins the roster.
How long will it take for Aaron Rodgers to return to the field?
It will be a long recovery period for a completely torn Achilles, but it has happened in the world of sports. This injury is the same that Baltimore Ravens running back JK Dobbins suffered on Sunday and has more than a year to fully recover from.
However, we can look at the hardwood for a sense of a timeline as power forward Kevin Durant suffered the same injury during the 2018-19 postseason and did not return to the court until the opening game of the 2020-21 season, which was more than 500 days.
While it is a completely different sport, and the potential to return seemed to be earlier with the NBA Bubble, it still could take some time, as Durant was a decade younger than Rodgers was when he suffered the injury. There is a chance Aaron Rodgers will call it a career as he will not be the same quarterback when he recovers, but for now, there is no official timetable.