New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers will miss the rest of the season due to a torn left Achilles tendon, head coach Robert Saleh announced Tuesday, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.
The four-time MVP suffered the injury in Monday night’s win over the Buffalo Bills. He was carted off from his Jets debut after a sack during New York’s opening drive. Rodgers was placed on injured reserve a day later.
Following New York’s overtime victory, Saleh said the team will turn to former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson as its starter for the rest of the year. He reiterated his faith in Wilson on Tuesday.
“I want to make it very clear, Zach’s our quarterback,” said Saleh, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. “We have a lot of faith in Zach. We’re rolling with Zach and excited for him.”
Tim Boyle, who is on the practice squad, is the Jets’ only other quarterback. Saleh said his team will add another passer to its group but emphasized it will be for depth purposes rather than competition for Wilson, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Wilson struggled in his first two seasons, posting an 8-14 record while throwing for 4,162 yards and 16 touchdowns against 19 interceptions. He completed 14 of his 21 passes for 140 yards with one touchdown and one interception against Buffalo.
While the loss of Rodgers may seem fatal to the Jets’ chances from the outside, Saleh isn’t throwing in the towel.
“I don’t know why people are trying to put an obituary to our team name,” he said, according to Cimini.
Rodgers didn’t like the Jets’ play-calls involving cut-blocks and expressed that to coaches, sources told Dianna Russini and Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.
New York tackles performed cut-blocks on two of Rodgers’ four drop-backs Thursday night, including the play where he was injured.
The Jets made a blockbuster move to acquire the 39-year-old Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers this offseason, setting themselves up to be a Super Bowl contender.
New York landed the veteran passer and Green Bay’s first- and fifth-round picks in the 2023 draft in exchange for first-, second-, and sixth-round selections in 2023. The Jets also dealt a conditional 2024 second-round choice that would’ve become a first if Rodgers had played 65% of their snaps this year.
Rodgers agreed to a $35-million pay cut after arriving in New York, inking a new two-year contract with $75 million guaranteed through the 2024 season.
He spent the first 18 years of his NFL career with the Packers, putting together a Hall of Fame-caliber resume. Rodgers led Green Bay to a Super Bowl win in 2011 and is the team’s all-time leader with 475 touchdown passes.
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