Aaron Rodgers just wanted to feel like he still belongs.
The Jets’ quarterback, who ruptured his left Achilles tendon just four plays into the season opener on Sept. 11, was seen throwing on the field before the Jets’ Week 6 win over the Eagles less than five weeks from his Sept. 13 surgery.
“To me, throwing on the field was just a way to feel normal,” Rodgers said on ESPN’s “ManningCast” Monday night. “When you’re away from the team, and you’re separated beyond the injured reserve list, anything you can do to make it feel like you’re kind of a part of it, whether that’s Zooming into a meeting, or a conversation before the game, or little details, knowing you went against this coordinator, and you remember some of the things he liked.
“For me, it was kind of just getting back out there and messing around in pregame warm-ups, being able to walk out there without crutches and throw a ball around a little bit. That gave me a jolt.”
Rodgers has been steadfast that he wants to, and believes he will be able to, return this season despite the normal rehab timetable for the injury working against him.
He was also walking around without crutches as he threw on the field, and has since claimed on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he is “way ahead of schedule” in his rehab.
Rodgers pointed to a “newer” and “innovative” surgery performed on him by Dr. Neal ElAttrache as reason to believe he can beat the medical odds.
“I’d love to come back this season. … For me, you always have to set a goal,” Rodgers reiterated Monday. “Otherwise you go kind of crazy. So, the goal is definitely to come back. There’s a lot of factors that go into that. I gotta get to a point where I can protect myself and do what I do.”
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