Aaron Rodgers is looking to keep the door on playing again this season as the New York Jets quarterback is aiming for a playoff return from his torn Achilles.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report that Rodgers had an innovative surgery on Wednesday in Los Angeles and that the procedure is designed to accelerate the normal rehabilitation process from an injury that usually ends a season.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache and his team reportedly performed a procedure to place an internal brace — which is also known as an Achilles “speed bridge” — on Rodgers’ Achilles, which is supposed to protect the tendon and open up the possibility of an earlier return.
Rodgers posted on Instagram that the procedure was a success.
“Surgery went great yesterday,” Rodgers wrote. “Thank you for all the love and prayers and support. And thanks to the (goat emoji) Dr ElAtrrache and his staff for starting me on the road to recovery.”
The 39-year-old quarterback ruptured his Achilles after just four snaps into the Jets’ season-opening win against the Buffalo Bills.
During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers, 39, said he was looking forward to the challenge of returning from the injury, especially from those suggesting his age will make it tough to be the same player again.
“There’s a lot of different ideas about the overall length of the rehab, I think what I’d like to say is, just because nobody’s ever done it in a certain way doesn’t mean it’s not possible,” Rodgers said. “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. My entire focus and dedication is about acquiring the most information and adding to what I’ve already put together as a pretty damn good rehab plan that’s going to, I think, shock some people.”
The Jets are turning back to Zach Wilson to replace Rodgers after the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft struggled mightily during his first two seasons — prompting New York to pursue a franchise-lifting signal caller.
Saleh and the Jets insist Wilson has improved since last season, and in large part because of his time the past several months with Rodgers.
“He’s got a lot of self confidence right now,” Saleh said of Wilson. “The easy stuff doesn’t look hard anymore. I mean, he gets back there and he does the fundamental things so well. His footwork is unbelievable.”
Wilson was shaky at times when he replaced Rodgers, finishing 14 of 21 for 140 yards with a touchdown and an interception. But he’ll get a week of practices — although it’s a bit of a short week after the Monday night game — to take the snaps as the starter and prepare to face the Cowboys in Dallas on Sunday.
The Jets aren’t necessarily expecting him to be a Rodgers replica.
“Nobody does,” Saleh said. “He just needs to be him. Nobody needs to think they need to go all-world now. You just need to be yourself. Just trust that yourself is good enough.”
—With files from the Associated Press.