Getty Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers getting helped up after getting hurt during an NFL game.
Not exactly how the New York Jets drew it up.
During the team’s first OTA practice that was open to the media, on Tuesday, May 23, new quarterback Aaron Rodgers appeared to get injured, according to multiple reports.
ESPN’s Dianna Russini tweeted that Rodgers went “off to the side, favoring his ankle, checking it. Something clearly not right.”
Speaking to the media after practice, Rodgers said, “I just tweaked my calf in the little pre-practice conditioning. I decided to take a vet day. I don’t think it’s too serious.”
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Connor Hughes of SNY said Rodgers “warmed up” and went through that process and “looked fine.” However, he tweeted, went off to the side with a strength coach and is “not doing much of anything.” Hughes tweeted that he wasn’t sure what happened but suggested he “might have tweaked something.”
ESPN’s Rich Cimini tweeted that the “early hunch is that he tweaked something in warmups.”
And The New York Post’s Brian Costello tweeted that didn’t look as though Rodgers would continue practicing and, instead, Rodgers was watching drills “with no helmet.” However, Costello wrote, “He is still out here. If he was really hurt, he would be inside. It is also May 23.”
Robby Sabo of Jets X-Factor tweeted that he saw Rodgers jog off into the facility but was back on the field watching drills. He said there is “nothing to be concerned with at least at this point.”
Robert Saleh Addresses Zach Wilson-Aaron Rodgers in Jets QB Room
Head coach Robert Saleh is not scheduled to meet with reporters again until Wednesday, May 31, at the Jets’ next open OTA. When he spoke to reporters before the May 23 OTA, he discussed the other quarterbacks on the 90-man roster: Zach Wilson, Chris Streveler, and Tim Boyle.
When asked about the dynamic between Rodgers and the quarterback he replaced as starter, Saleh said, “I think it has been good.”
Wilson was drafted No. 2 overall by the Jets in 2021. Now he’s been relegated to Rodgers’ backup, but he has handled the demotion like a champ, Saleh said.
“He has been a sponge,” Saleh said. “I think Zach has handled this as good as a professional can handle this. I’m excited for him because I think he’s approaching this in a way where I think he can grow from this. There is no doubt in my mind that Zach is going to get so much better through this experience and I am confident that he is going to turn into the player that we know he can be.”
The Jets are hoping Wilson can sit and watch in 2023 behind one of the best quarterbacks of all time. The former BYU product never got the benefit to sit and learn because he was thrown into the fire as a rookie.
Gang Green is hoping for a second chance to develop Wilson the proper way this time around. He still has two years left on his rookie contract.
