13/11/2023
How Aaron Rodgers is helping the Jets as part-time coach, mentor and ‘positive spirit’
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Aaron Rodgers was sitting at his locker a couple of weeks before the New York Jets’ Sept. 11 season opener, in no rush after a shower as others hurried to a mandatory team meeting. On his way out, defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers made a crack to Rodgers about taking his time. They both laughed.
Rodgers misses those moments now, chopping it up with the Jets’ mercurial group of defensive linemen, lockers positioned all around him. Wednesday, quarterbacks Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian were locked into an intense game of Ping-Pong as Zach Wilson spoke to a large group of reporters a few feet away, the three players comprising the quarterback room with Rodgers thousands of miles away in Malibu, Calif. At one point, Siemian hit the ball too far and it rolled toward Rodgers’ locker, mostly vacant aside from the scooter leaned up against it, logoed with his No. 8 and a jet plane. It’s waiting for him, to help him get around the facility, whenever he returns.
For now, he’s in the throes of rehab for his Achilles injury, intent on making history and returning to play football just a few months after his September surgery. On weekends, he flies to New Jersey to join his teammates for games at MetLife Stadium. He watches from the sideline, with a headset, and spends most of the game offering advice and words of encouragement to his teammates and coaches. He’s basically become a part-time member of the coaching staff, which is what his role will be until he’s ready to play again.
The Jets organization, from ownership to coaches to the locker room, has dreams of Rodgers making a miraculous return and playing again this season as the team makes a playoff push. Some in the organization know that might not be realistic.
“I just don’t see how it’s remotely possible, that’s where I’m at,” said one high-ranking Jets source, speaking on the condition of anonymity so he is not seen as unsupportive of the quarterback. “I’m not counting it out, but it would be insane if it happened.”
In the meantime, Rodgers is still trying to make an impact, in the same way he did when games didn’t matter yet and he stuck around for the Jets’ offseason program, which he rarely did with the Packers. Since his trade to the Jets in April, Rodgers has helped to change the demeanor of an organization riddled with negativity through years of disappointment. His message is still resonating — especially when he’s there on Sundays, wearing a headset, playing his part and encouraging his teammates to stay positive, even in moments of peril.
