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Aaron Rodgers has revealed that he thought his NFL days were over — which they still might be, as he’s yet to return to a professional football game — after tearing his Achilles during the first week of the 2023 season.
During a recent appearance on the I Can Fly podcast, Rodgers — speaking for over two and a half hours — revealed that tearing his Achilles after just four snaps with the New York Jets was one of the most “heartbreaking” moments of his life and that he thought his career was over.
“I had this incredible offseason experience in a new city, a new town, with new teammates, a new organization, an owner for the first time, and really falling back in love with the game that I first fell in love with when I was 5 years old. It was absolutely beautiful and special and deep and rich and yummy, and just incredible,” Rodgers said.
“And then, one of the most heartbreaking nights of my life, when I played four plays. Talk about an ego death,” he said. “I was really thinking, ‘This is it. You don’t come back from this injury.'”
Despite teasing the NFL world that he was attempting a comeback before the end of the campaign, the four-time NFL MVP ultimately stayed sidelined for the entirety of his first season with Gang Green.
The fact is, however, that Rodgers, 40 years old, is currently in the midst of a Schrödinger’s cat situation when it comes to the future of his career, as he hasn’t yet returned to a live NFL field, which will be the ultimate test of his rebuilt Achilles.
The Jets are certainly doing everything they can to provide Rodgers with what he needs to bring the team to the playoffs for the first time since 2010, as they’ve acquired offensive tackles Tyron Williams and Morgan Moses, wide receiver Mike Williams, linebacker Hasson Reddick, backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, and more.