Getty Image
On Thanksgiving, to the surprise of absolutely no one, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported that Aaron Rodgers wants to return to the New York Jets’ starting lineup this season so he can “show he’s able to come back faster from that Achilles tear than any quarterback ever.”
Anyone who has followed Aaron Rodgers’ professional career and personal life over the last few years should come to expect this from the soon-to-be 40-year-old QB, who has routinely demonstrated his desire to be the center of attention.
Now, however, according to a new report from NBC Sports’ Peter King, Rodgers wants to make his way back to the field because he “has pangs” about the way the Jets have treated him.
“Rodgers also has pangs about how much the Jets bent their organization, team and locker room to his desires when the Packers traded him to New York. He believes in the ethos of the locker room and knows other players play with pain and sometimes risk further injury by playing,” King reported.
It’s certainly convenient that a narrative about Rodgers wanting to return for his teammates and organization has come out just days after it was reported that his desire to return was largely centered around his own personal goals.
King then reiterated that Rodgers would only step back on the field if there was not a “significant risk of re-tearing the Achilles.”
“If he can be sure he is reasonably recovered, without a significant risk of re-tearing the Achilles, I think he’d strongly consider playing, whatever the Jets’ record is. I think he may feel a personal need to come back to a team that remade itself for him and is struggling incredibly with terrible quarterback play since he was lost in the first game of the season.”
With six games left to play this season, the 4-7 Jets will be taking on the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins, Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns, and New England Patriots.