It's no secret that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been around longer than most active NFL players. So much so, that Quinnen Williams was beside himself when he realized how old the legendary signal-caller is.
The All-Pro defensive tackle had a hilarious revelation during an OTAs press conference, via the 33rd Team's Ari Meirov.
“Twenty years?” Williams asked when a reporter informed him that this is Rodgers' twentieth NFL campaign. “I ain't know that. Aaron's been twenty years in the NFL? Man. Ain't our running back, the number zero twenty years old? So he been in the NFL long as he's been alive. That's crazy. I gotta joke with him about that.”
Williams referred to Braelon Allen, a tailback that New York drafted in the fourth round out of Wisconsin this past April. Allen was born on January 20th, 2004, just over a year before the Green Bay Packers selected Rodgers.
With the 40-year-old Rodgers being a dinosaur by football standards, will he still be able to hold up across an entire season?
The Jets will hope that Rodgers can turn his pain into champagne
After losing Rodgers in the fourth play of the season last year, New York beefed the offensive line up significantly both in free agency and the draft. The future Hall-of-Famer will have upgraded pass protection this season, but nothing will change the fact that last season was downright heartbreaking for him. However, he plans to use that pain to push him this year, via Jack Bell of the team's official website.
“There's been a lot of beauty that's come out of the heartbreak and frustration and I'm gonna try and channel as much as I can to this season, these guys, trying to give our fans a lot to cheer about,” Rodgers said.
This type of perspective comes with living many years on earth, something that Williams will find out one day. While Rodgers may be old, his wisdom has been and will continue to be an invaluable asset for the Jets' locker room.
The offensive line wasn't New York's only off-season focus, though. Rodgers is also excited about Allen and the rest of the backfield.
“And we bring in Braelon Allen, who is now sitting in front of me in a meeting,” Rodgers continued. “He's half my age, I'm [going to be] 41 [in December] before he turns 21 [in January].The guy can't even drink legally, but he's a monster. I remember him in Wisconsin, as a 17-year-old playing games for the University of Wisconsin. I thought that was absolutely crazy. When you watch the videos and see him squat and bench three, four plates … he's a monster. And you're putting him behind one of the most-versatile backs in the league [Breece Hall]. He proved last year he can catch the ball out of the backfield and make plays, and obviously runs his ass off.”
One of the best things about team sports is that it brings together people of different ages, backgrounds, and cultures. If Allen is as good as Rodgers thinks he is, the young speedster may end up being a vital ingredient to the California native's second championship ring, something Rodgers has been searching for since Allen was in grade school.
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