Aaron Rodgers had everyone sweating over his health at Jets practice on Saturday after he showed up to the field limping and in a bad mood, as he apparently fired a football into the turf, according to reports.
The 39-year-old quarterback wasn’t involved in New York’s first pre-season game of the year against the Cleveland Browns in a Hall of Fame matchup in Canton, Ohio, last week but has been very much involved in the team’s plans for training camp.
And ahead of his season debut for the Jets against the Buffalo Bills on September 11, Rodgers has had his foot stepped on, despite the coaching staff’s efforts to avoid their starter under center getting injured before then.
And thankfully for his teammates, Rodgers is doing fine after returning to practice to throw a pair of touchdown passes in red-zone drills.
‘Little pinky toe. He’s all right,’ head coach Robert Saleh said after training. ‘I saw it, I knew he was fine.’
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers had his ‘little pinky toe’ stepped on in practice, the Jets said
Rodgers, 39, was not involved in the Jets’ Hall of Fame pre-season game against the Browns
Rodgers, donning his red jersey with the No. 8, was replaced for a few snaps by backup QB Zach Wilson in the team period but finished practice no worse for the wear.
Quarterbacks are supposed to avoid being touched when involved in training drills, though at times, contact is unavoidable.
‘We do it all the time,’ HC Robert Saleh said of the practice reminders for rushers.
‘Stay off the quarterback. Respect the quarterback. Every player knows how important those quarterbacks are, but stay up, stay off them. It goes without saying, but you’re always going to try to make it a point of emphasis.’
The Jets will hold joint practices with the Panthers next week and Rogers is expected to feature
Wide receiver Garrett Wilson remains sidelined with a sprained right ankle, but Saleh said he could return on a limited basis pm Tuesday ahead of the Jets’ joint practices with the Carolina Panthers later in the week.
The Jets head coach added that offensive tackle Duane Brown (shoulder) remains a few weeks away from returning.
‘He’s still rehabbing, would love him out there right now,’ Saleh said. ‘But it is a plus that he’s got so much experience in this league. He’s one of the few in the league, when you have that much experience, you can play without practice.
‘He’s going through a lot of individuals on the side, he’s still getting a lot of work in.’
