With the new football season having just begun, the oldest NFL quarterback to take the field this season was set to be Aaron Rodgers after Tom Brady’s retirement this past offseason.
This was going to be different in many ways, however. The main reason being Rodgers joining the New York Jets after 15 years of legendary play for the Green Bay Packers.
Monday evening, Rodgers suited up for his first regular season start as a Jet for a game against the Buffalo Bills who are led by quarterback Josh Allen. The game looked to have the possibility of being an impressive one with each teams’ roster looking impressive.
The Jets put a lot of money into signing Rodgers and multiple weapons for him this offseason and brought back last year’s strong defense. At the same time, Buffalo returned a solid team that has become a perennial post-season team in recent years. It was set to be a classic, but then tragedy struck.
Rodgers dropped back in the pocket early in the first quarter and was quickly sacked in awkward fashion. He needed help off the field and was seen by millions limping down the tunnel toward the locker room. The injury to his leg ended up being to his Achilles tendon, which has been announced as torn, effectively ending his season.
It almost seemed cursed to happen, given his age of 39. Playing a sport like football at such a high level for enough time will take its toll on the body. Rodgers had already injured the same leg earlier this year in training camp.
Preserving his body has become a key focus of Rodgers, especially as witness to Brady’s impressive career while doing strange things for health benefits.
Rodgers has been big into alternative medicine for a while and has done many things that people think are eccentric such as going on darkness retreats and taking the psychedelic ayahuasca. The extent of the benefits derived from these methods is largely unknown for now.
It still feels crazy, but the wheels seem to have all but just fallen off. I don’t want to see Rodgers retire because of injury, but I also don’t want to see someone put their body through unnecessary hell if not much will come from it. Could this be the end?
I grew up watching Rodgers in the green and gold, and I remember many great games with him behind center at Lambeau Field. I remember watching him win Super Bowl XLV when I was in third grade. I remember him completing a pass to tight end Jared Cook on one of the most beautiful toe-drag catches I’ve ever seen, which ultimately set up the game-winning field goal in the 2016 season’s NFC divisional game against the Cowboys.
I also remember watching that same Packers team subsequently get murdered by the Falcons the very next week in the NFC championship game. I’ve cheered every win, felt the sting of every loss, and grew up with Aaron Rodgers as my favorite player.
If it is truly the end, Rodgers’s storied career will come to a close with one Super Bowl win, four MVP seasons and a spot all but saved in the NFL Hall of Fame. It could be the end of an era in more ways than one, however.
With quarterback retirements of recent years including the likes of Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers and Eli Manning it feels like the entire class of NFL quarterbacks I started watching football with is gone. As much as I was destined to grow up and attend Simpson College, this group was destined to retire. The ride may not quite be over yet with many factors playing part in what will happen with Rodgers, but it feels like the end of the line.
I’ve been a Packer fan for life and am excited about the team’s impressive start with Jordan Love at the helm, but Rodgers made it extra special to put on the green and gold and I believe the NFL without him will be hard to get used to. I guess this is growing up.
