There was much anticipation for Aaron Rodgers' regular season debut in a New York Jets uniform, in front of their home crowd at MetLife Stadium no less. But Rodgers suffered the worst possible outcome during his first game with his new team. Early on in the first quarter of what ended up being a 22-16 win for the Jets, the 39-year old quarterback had to be carted off the field after suffering a leg injury following a sack from Leonard Floyd.
While the initial prognosis was that the Jets new QB suffered a measly ankle injury, the reports during and after the game point to a much more severe injury for the veteran. Even head coach Robert Saleh acknowledged that Rodgers may have suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon — one of the worst injuries any professional athlete who relies on their legs can suffer.
However, upon closer look at slow-motion replays of the play in which Aaron Rodgers suffered the injury, it becomes immediately clear that the Jets QB indeed suffered an Achilles tear. One can even pinpoint the exact moment in which the veteran sustained the injury. Backpedaling as he was with Leonard Floyd in hot pursuit of him, Rodgers appeared to suffer a sudden pop and vibration towards his calf — a telltale sign of an Achilles tear.
Per Ari Meirov on Twitter (X):
Re-watching footage of other athletes who have suffered the same injury paints a similar picture; that indeed is how the calf moves when the Achilles tendon reaches its breaking point. When Kevin Durant suffered a torn Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals, the movement of his calf looked very similar to that of the Jets quarterback's four years later.
At this point, this kind of injury is a disaster for Aaron Rodgers, as he's already 39 years old and in the twilight of his career. It's difficult enough as it is to recover from a torn Achilles, but for him to do so at his age? It will take the miracles of modern science for the Jets QB to return to previous form, which certainly isn't impossible in this day and age.