Aaron Rodgers is as ‘hungry as ever’ to win a second Super Bowl.
That’s according to sport biographer Ian O’Connor, who spoke exclusively to talkSPORT ahead of the New York Jets’ Week 1 Monday Night Football clash with the San Francisco 49ers on September 9.
When the game comes around, it will be exactly one year to the day since Rodgers, a four-time MVP and Super Bowl XLV winner, played an NFL snap.
12 months ago, the then-39-year-old quarterback was introduced at a fervent MetLife Stadium while carrying an American Flag after spending the previous 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
However, Rodgers’ Jets debut against the Buffalo Bills quickly turned into a nightmare when he tore his Achilles tendon four snaps into the game after being sacked by Bills defensive end Leonard Floyd.
Rodgers underwent surgery two days later and was ruled out for the remainder of the season, a major blow to his Super Bowl aspirations.
O’Connor, who has written a fascinating book, Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers, on the signal caller’s life, says there were “really dark and grim times in the early stages of that recovery process.”
Rodgers defied conventional medicine by returning to practice just 77 days after his surgery, having undergone “ozone treatments, red light therapies, hyperbaric chambers and stem cell treatments” in an effort to accelerate his rehabilitation.
The ten-time Pro Bowler now returns to a revamped Jets team with serious expectations heading into the 2024 season.
“The whole Jets operation seems like they have a more serious, urgent tone this year. Last year was a giddy, love fest,” O’Connor told talkSPORT.
“This year, it’s all about business. If this doesn’t work out, everyone is getting fired. The coach, the general manager, the offensive coordinator, and probably Aaron himself.”
The Jets would be hard pressed to find a more difficult season opener than the 49ers.
The powerhouse Niners were beaten in last year’s Super Bowl by the Kansas City Chiefs and boast one of the most formidable offenses in the NFL.
They’re elite defensively, too, thanks to Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, as well as Leonard Floyd, the man who inadvertently injured Rodgers last year.
Rodgers grew up in Northern California as a 49ers fan wanting to be the next Joe Montana or Steve Young. But O’Connor isn’t holding out much hope the quarterback can beat his former favorite team in then first MNF of the season.
“If you’re a New York Jets fan, that could start the season off on a bad note. And the Jets fans will start worrying again that this isn’t going to work out and we’re going to end up 5-12.
“[You’re going] to put him on the field against one of the most fierce defenses in the NFL, if not the best defense. I felt like asking an NFL official, ‘are you trying to get Aaron hurt again?’
“I think a lot of viewers will be glued to their television sets Monday night. It’ll be entertaining, I just hope, at the end of the game, even if the Jets lose, Rodgers is healthy. Because if you look at the next four games on their schedule [Titans, Patriots, Broncos, Vikings], those are all very winnable games.
“They have a shot to be 4-1 after five games, and that will be a pretty good story-line in the NFL.”
The Jets currently have the longest playoff drought (14 years) among all four of the major US sports.
The last time they were in the Super Bowl was in 1969, which they won thanks to the great Joe Namath. They have only won the AFC East twice, in 1998 and 2002, the fewest division titles among NFL teams in the post-merger era (1970).
But, with Rodgers under center, a new-look offensive line, two Offensive Player of the Year candidates in Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, and a gritty defense, there’s a real belief Robert Saleh’s team could not only win the division this season, but make a sizeable splash in the postseason, too.
“I don’t think Aaron Rodgers at this stage of his career can carry a team for 17 games. I think it’s just asking too much,” says O’Connor.
“But I do think he can be a very good player and one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, without question. So I think he’ll have a good year. I think the football gods after last year really owe him one.
“I think they’ll go 11-6 in the regular season if I had to guess. I think they’ll make the playoffs. I think they’ll have a chance to maybe get to the Super Bowl.
“The problem is in their conference, you have Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. You have Joe Burrow. You’ve got Lamar Jackson. You have some great quarterbacks and teams that they have to navigate their way through. But I think the Jets will be a factor this year.”
Rodgers turns 41 in December. It’s clear his Super Bowl window is getting smaller by the day, but O’Connor insists Rodgers is intent on giving the Jets at least ‘two good seasons’.
“I think if they advance to the playoffs and won at least one playoff game, to me, that’s a success,” O’Connor says. “I think that would bring the coaching staff and the management team back.
“I think Aaron would come back as well. He is clearly hungry and sees an opportunity here. Maybe his last great opportunity to win a second championship. He really wants to win a championship in New York. He knows what that will do to his historical standing in the sport.
“But if they have a losing season, I think everybody’s gone, and it would be a real shame.”
The lifelong Jets fan admits Rodgers winning a Super Bowl is a ‘long shot’, especially because the team in green, white and black would likely have to overcome three-time Super Bowl MVP Mahomes in the AFC Championship game, should they make it that far.
Still, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility, says O’Connor.
“If the Jets do somehow win a championship, I think it’ll be the biggest New York sports story of my lifetime.”
