Minutes after New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers took the field to make his debut with the team in front of a packed and energized crowd at MetLife Stadium, the sentiment turned to one of concern and dread when he went down with an injury. Four plays into the game, the 39-year-old quarterback went down with an injury to his ankle that an MRI confirmed was a complete tear of his left Achilles tendon, ending his season. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were on the call for Monday Night Football, balancing the Rodgers development with the game at hand.
The Jets are scheduled to play in prime time five more times this season, and all of the attention around the league was spotlighted on Rodgers and the team as they sought to turn their Super Bowl aspirations into a reality. While “Gang Green” ultimately won the game on an overtime punt return by rookie Xavier Gipson in his NFL debut, all of the conversation surrounding the contest pertained to the status of No. 8.
Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti, much like most other media outlets in the New York metropolitan area and beyond, have been talking about the impact of Rodgers and the Jets more than ever leading into this season. With all signs pointing to a prolonged absence, there are people imploring the team to make a move at quarterback rather than starting Zach Wilson, who has struggled in his first two seasons in the NFL.
Being that all of the attention was focused on Rodgers – so much so that Peyton Manning admitted that he had nothing to talk about on the ManningCast if he was out – the injury will have far-reaching implications both on the football field and for sports media outlets alike.
“He was the toast of the town here, and 99% of the media attention was focused on the Jets,” Esiason said Tuesday morning on WFAN. “Everything from Hard Knocks to everybody and their mother interviewing him, including us.”
When Rodgers was taken out of the game, there was no immediate word regarding the severity of his injury. Upon emerging from the medical tent after several minutes, he was seated on a cart and taken into the tunnel for X-rays, which came back negative. Rodgers had an MRI on Tuesday morning that confirmed the team’s worst fears of a season-ending Achilles injury.
“It was the biggest story in the NFL that ended four plays in,” Giannotti said. “Because of the hope and what could have been, this is up there at the top of the list of the biggest Jets disasters.”
As a former quarterback, Esiason wishes he was able to suit up for the Jets and help lead the team to a Super Bowl, and revealed that he was barely able to sleep over the news last night. During the game though, Esiason was watching the traditional broadcast on ESPN and commended Monday Night Football analyst Troy Aikman for adequately describing the differences in game planning between a veteran quarterback such as Rodgers and a novice one in Wilson.
“I’ve been here for 17 years,” Esiason said. “There’s been a lot of crap that’s happened. This one makes me sick.”
Giannotti is notorious for being a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, but being in the New York marketplace meant that he was covering Rodgers and the Jets. While he was on the air, he conveyed a despondent sensibility and still had a sense of incredulousness towards whether or not the instance truly occurred. Unfortunately for Giannotti and football fans, the instance was more than merely a bad dream, but very much a realistic worst-case scenario and rendered Tuesday’s program into the catharsis of extreme shock and distress.
“I’ve never felt like this about a team that I didn’t grow up rooting for,” Giannotti said. “I’ve never been this emotionally affected by that. This story was going to take over the city; it was going to take over sports. It was the biggest story in football, and we had a front-row seat for it.”
