The AFC East image – and probably the Patriots’ path to the playoffs – took a sudden activate Monday night time.
On the fourth play of his Jets profession, Aaron Rodgers went down with an harm, and didn’t return. On Tuesday, Rodgers and the Jets’ worst concern was confirmed – the 39-year-old quarterback suffered a torn Achilles tendon and can miss the remainder of the season.
The Jets had Super Bowl aspirations with the addition of Rodgers this offseason, however similar to that, their probabilities at even making the playoffs for the primary time in additional than a decade took a catastrophic blow.
Rodgers’ harm creates an apparent domino impact for the Patriots, who play the Jets twice within the division, together with in Week 3 in New York. And whereas they’re actually targeted on this Sunday night time’s matchup in opposition to the Dolphins, Patriots assistant coaches took a second to react to the Rodgers ‘ information on Tuesday.
“You never want to see anybody get hurt,” Patriots cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino stated. “I didn’t see the game, I was worried about Miami. But you never want to see anybody get hurt. I’m from New York, so I’ve got a bunch of friends back home that were pretty beat up about it. You never want to see that. It is what it is. It’s unfortunate.”
The Patriots’ defensive coaches every had an identical response.
“Honestly, injuries are very unfortunate, but it’s part of the game,” Patriots linebackers coach Steve Belichick stated. “Best goes out to him. He’s obviously a tremendous player. I don’t know what exactly happened or what the timetable is, but it’s a tough part of the game. But it is what it is.”
The Jets will now flip again to third-year quarterback Zach Wilson, who helped cause them to a comeback victory over the Bills on Monday night time however whose struggles in his first two seasons necessitated the franchise’s transfer to commerce for Rodgers.
Wilson, the No. 2 total decide in 2021, has a passer score of fifty.6 with two touchdowns and 7 interceptions over 4 profession video games in opposition to the Patriots, all losses. New England will profit from going through Wilson as a substitute of Rodgers, however actually underneath unlucky circumstances.
“It’s very unfortunate any time players get hurt, especially when they’re season-long injuries,” Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo stated. “We’re really just focused on the Dolphins right now. But you hate to see a good player, a great player I should say, like that go down. It’s unfortunate.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com