The off-season has been full of speculations regarding the New York Jets’ potential chance of winning a Super Bowl title this season, keeping the former Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers at the helm. However, instead of leading the team on its mission of ending the prolonged playoff drought, the signal-caller is now rehabbing from his potential season-ending injury.
Nevertheless, Rodgers never halted back from assisting his fellow teammates by constantly motivating him via face calls or his presence in the stadium. He didn’t even shy away from taking a dig at the New York Giants to defend the Jets amid a tumultuous season.
Rodgers highlights Giants’ issues
Following the season-opening win against the Buffalo Bills, Gang Green lost their charm and got embroiled in a losing streak. They indeed bounced back a few weeks back by picking up three consecutive wins against the Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, and Giants.
However, the Jets have once again gone back to their poor form and lost two straight games in the past two weeks. Their offensive side was terrible as they couldn’t score any touchdowns in those contests. As the franchise has been torn apart by critics following the downfall, Rodgers boldly said it is high time the NFL community shifted their criticism towards another New York-based team, the Giants, who are showcasing poorer performance than Gang Green.
“That the Giants suck and no one is talking about it?”, he said on the Pat McAfee Show via SI.com.
The four-time MVP is not wrong either as with eight defeats, including one from the Jets and only two wins, the Giants are sitting at the last spot of the NFC East. Even their two wins came against less competitive teams like the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders.
Their offense is an absolute mess while their once top-ranked defense has also been pretty lackluster lately, and hence, A-Rod can’t be blamed for the jab as well.
Robert Saleh addresses Aaron Rodgers’ potential return
Days ago, NBC Sports’ Melissa Stark sent shockwaves among the NFL community saying Rodgers is targeting a mid-December return date from his torn Achilles tendon. However, the veteran later smashed the rumor about the timeline, saying he never “said anything definitive” about returning back to the action.
According to Melissa’s report, A-Rod’s return could be in the Jets’ upcoming contests against the Houston Texans or against the Miami Dolphins. Meanwhile, according to the four-time MVP’s earlier “a few fortnights” timeline, he is projected to come back on Dec. 24’s match against the Washington Commanders. Whatever the date is, the Jets head coach Robert Saleh said the team would defer to the signal-caller.
“Aaron’s a big boy, a grown man, and no one’s going to know Aaron’s body like Aaron knows his body. And if he feels, after all the doctors clear him — and I’m sure there’s a million of them, I have no idea on that stuff — but if Aaron says he wants to play, he’s going to play,” he said per AP News.
Gang Green waived backup running back Michael Carter days back, and Saleh said the initiative was taken to give more opportunity to rookie Israel Abanikanda. He also revealed that more changes would take place on the offensive side after a while to make the side ready ahead of Rodgers’ potential return before the playoffs.
“The pressure is to keep it afloat just to keep it afloat. You know, the pressure to go to the playoffs is always pressure. It’s not for any one individual. It’s not for any possibility. It’s because we’re competitors and we want to win football games. And I think Aaron’s just icing on the cake.”
After tearing his Achilles in the season-opening match, A-Rod has undergone an innovative surgery and is now in the process of rehabilitation. However, besides making regular appearances in the Jets matches, the QB has also been spotted wearing a headset to hear the play calls, and hence, the team might be eyeing to ensure everything is in the right place before he starts quarterbacking again.
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