Ocho blog by @diegocando8

It seemed far away when in April of this same year the Green Bay packers agreed with the New York Jets to trade Aaron Rodgers. After 18 years, four NFL MVP awards and one Super Bowl victory, Rodgers joins a different team.

In the deal, the Jets received Rodgers, pick No. 15, and a fifth-round pick. The Packers got pick No. 13, second- and sixth-round picks this year, and a conditional second-round pick in 2024 that could become a first-rounder.

Rodgers announced on “The Pat McAfee Show” in March that he intended to play for the Jets, which triggered final negotiations between New York and Green Bay. 

“I made it clear my intention was to play and to play for the New York Jets, and I haven’t been holding anything up,” he said. “It’s the compensation that the Packers are trying to get. … The Packers want to move on and have let me know that in so many words. I f—ing love that city. I love that organization and am always going to have love for that organization. The facts are right now they want to move on, and now so do I.”

Fox News reported that Rodgers’ relationship with the Packers began to deteriorate as far back as 2018, when Mike McCarthy was the coach. But the relationship seemed to get exponentially worse when Green Bay drafted quarterback Jordan Love in the first round in 2020 to eventually replace Rodgers.

The Jets finished the 2022 season with a 7-10 record. Their defense was among the best in the league, but New York couldn’t get enough production from the quarterback position.

New York City was looking forward to what was going to be the 39-year-old QB’s first game until the nightmare came: Rodgers suffered a complete tear in his Achilles left leg during the first offensive series of his debut with the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, he left the field in a cart amid the stunned disbelief of a previously raucous home crowd at MetLife Stadium.

With hip-hop artist and actor Method Man announcing Rodgers’ name — accompanied by a laser light show — the quarterback got huge applause.

On the Jets’ third official offensive play of the game, left tackle Duane Brown missed a block against Bills linebacker Leonard Floyd. Rodgers tried to escape, but Floyd sacked Rodgers, rolling the quarterback’s legs as they both went to the ground. Rodgers stood up, then sat back down before walking to the sideline with help from Jets medical staff, reported The Chicago Tribune.

” The crowd, which had been “raucous before the game and during its earliest moments,” was “notably muted afterward.” The Rodgers injury “threatens to derail one of the most hyped teams in the NFL this season” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/11/23).

The Jets, even without Rodgers, won in overtime, 22-16, on a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown by Xavier Gipson.

“Before even an MRI, I knew what happened,” Rodgers said last week on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “I knew I tore my Achilles. I had popped my calf a few times… and it was not that sensation, so I knew that this was not a good situation.”

What’s not so certain is how long it will take for Rodgers to recover from a complete Achilles tendon tear or rupture, reports USA TODAY.

“I definitely have some odds stacked against me based on age, but I like it,” Rodgers said. “Stack all the odds up against me and see what happens.”

Aaron Rodgers suffered a complete Achilles tendon tear or rupture, here’s what that means

The Achilles tendon is a strong fibrous cord that connects the muscles in the back of your calf to your heel bone. The tendon directs movement from the leg to the foot, including pointing and rising onto your tiptoes as well as flexing the toes up.

The connective tissue can be torn partially or completely with a misstep or with a sudden movement like running or jumping. If your Achilles tendon ruptures, you might hear a pop, followed by an immediate sharp pain in the back of your ankle and lower leg. Surgery is often performed to repair the injury.

According to Dr. Robert Glatter, a former sideline physician for the Jets and assistant professor of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, Northwell Health in New York, The sudden movement of his heel and foot upward, with the weight of Leonard Floyd on his back, along with his prior calf strain were important factors leading to his complete Achilles tendon rupture,” “His age was also a factor, and perhaps the type of turf,” Glatter said. 

“Surgery went great yesterday,” the Jets quarterback said in his Instagram post. “Thank you for all the love and prayers and support. And thanks to the goat. Dr. ElAttrache and his staff for starting me on the road to recovery.”

All fans That Road could be nine to 12 months long – the average amount of time it takes athletes to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Rodgers will likely have a yearlong “functional” type of rehabilitation about three months after surgery involving strengthening and stretching his calf, leg and thigh, Glatter said. “It will progress from simple strengthening exercises in the gym to actual work on the football field in the latter part of his rehabilitation that will simulate the actions and moves required of a quarterback.”

Rodgers will likely return to about 90% of his strength, endurance and agility one year after his surgery, but that might not be as limiting as it sounds, Glatter said:

“Quarterbacks, in general, don’t depend on the sudden and explosive power (pushing off from their heels and foot) that running backs, defensive backs, and cornerbacks typically require in their positions.” Glatter.

ESPN compared Rodgers’ case with the running back Cam Akers case when he tore his Achilles in 2021 and came back faster than virtually any professional athlete: just under five months.

“No one that I know of has come back at this kind of performance in just over five months. It’s amazing,” orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed Akers’ surgery, told USA TODAY Sports+. “I can tell you I haven’t seen anybody injured right before the regular season, right before that preseason camp, and come back the same year.”

Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who operated on Rodgers this past week in Los Angeles, repaired Kobe Bryant’s torn Achilles in 2013, and it took Bryant eight months to return to action.

Whether he’s back in five months, 12 months, or longer, Rodgers was upbeat about his physical therapy plans to McAfee.

“There’s a lot of ideas on the overall length of the rehab,” Rodgers said. “Just because someone hasn’t done it a certain way doesn’t mean it’s not possible. I definitely have some odds stacked against me based on age, but I like it. Stack all the odds up against me and see what happens.”