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FLORHAM PARK — He was stoic, statuesque. Occasionally Aaron Rodgers would reach for his water, take a sip, play with the cap, then slide it back across the table. Those were the only times he leaned forward from his kicked-back stance, surrounded by media, inside a boardroom on the top floor of the Atlantic Health Training Facility.
Nothing in the quarterback’s tone or demeanor would tell you he was on the precipice of accomplishing something no other athlete had — returning to play from a ruptured Achilles inside four months. Maybe this was just a calming facade, but the more he spoke, his authenticity became more convincing. This wasn’t someone focused on what he might do. Rodgers is consumed by what he knows he will.
He knows he’s coming back — potentially before Christmas Eve.
“Anything is possible,” Rodgers said.
He’s a self-centered egomaniac. A bad teammate. Obsessed with drama. In it for himself. That was the reputation Rodgers arrived to the Jets with. It’s hard not to laugh at that now. No one would have blamed the 39-year-old for calling it a season (or career) after his calf reverberated with the snapping of his ligament four plays into this season. He owed the league nothing. He owed the Jets nothing. He was indebted to no one.
Rodgers did not give a damn.
By the evening of Sept. 12 he looked at those closest to him and made them promise to remain by his side. He decided then that he was going to do everything in his power to get back to his team this year. It didn’t matter what it took, the strain it put on his aging body, the torture mentally. He needed them to help push him through. Why?
Because he felt he owed it to Jets fans, his teammates, coaches and ownership — a city and franchise that put their faith in him. There would be no focus on getting ready for 2024. He was going to push for this year. Rams running back Cam Akers returned in less than six months. Lakers star Kobe Bryant made a similarly fast return. Rodgers aimed to…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/inside-story-aaron-rodgers-remarkable-151500804.html
Author : SNY
Publish date : 2023-12-01 15:15:00
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