New York Jets superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers is set to make his long-awaited return to the football field on Sept. 9, and one NFL all-time great is stoked to see how he will come back.
That former great would just so happen to be Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion and three-time league MVP. Brady and Rodgers were the two most prolific quarterbacks of their era spanning from 2008 until the former’s retirement in 2022. Though they spent the vast majority of that time in different conferences, they did face off five times over the course of their careers, with Brady holding a 3-2 record over Rodgers as well as a 1-0 edge in playoff competition.
Despite having more hardware and winning acumen to his name than the Jets’ franchise player, Brady understands the immense talent that Rodgers wields and how that could drive a stacked Jets roster toward a Super Bowl run in 2024. That, and seeing the Cal product’s nonpareil arm talent on display are reasons why Brady recently expressed his great desire to see him show out in his return campaign.
Jets: Tom Brady is expecting “big things” from Aaron Rodgers in 2024
Per Denis P. Gorman of Newsday, Brady had this to say about how he expects Rodgers to process his return to the field after his most recent Achilles tear in Week 1 of 2023, and how he envisions that playing out from both a productivity and leadership standpoint next season (h/t Evan Massey of New York Jets on SI):
“I’m really excited for what he’s about to undertake here shortly going into the season. I think you have those injuries, they put a lot of things into perspective for you when you have them, and I want to see the fire that he’s got when he goes out there on the field. And how he [chooses] to lead the team this year. So it’s going to be an exciting year for the Jets fans,” Brady said.
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Rodgers has the chance to return to MVP levels next season
Rodgers has a really big team around him. Big as in largely skilled and gifted. If they all do their jobs to perfection on the upcoming campaign, then Rodgers’ really big team can expect some really big rings. In order to get those, though, the 40-year-old former four-time MVP will have to replicate the really nice things he did on the field as a member of the Green Bay Packers up until the 2021 campaign.
In 2021 specifically, Rodgers notched his tenth career 4,000-yard passing season, boasting 4,115 passing yards along with a league-leading seven percent touchdown percentage which yielded 37 dimes in the end zone and an NFL-best interception percentage of 0.8 percent, which only added four interception blemishes to his record, all of which helped him earn his fourth and most recent MVP. However, 2005’s No. 24 overall pick did take a step back in 2022, regressing by over 400 passing yards (3,695 yards), and 11 touchdowns (26 TD) while coughing up three times as many INTs (12).
Brady sees the forest for the trees and understands that one down campaign for the future Hall-of-Famer, which is to be taken with a fine grain of salt considering the caliber of player that he is, and even a debilitating injury like an Achilles tear, may not be enough adversity to keep him down. From a leadership standpoint, Rodgers has been active in Jets practice, holding his offensive line accountable for uncharacteristic blunders early in training camp, building camaraderie with rookie wide receiver Malachi Corley, and speaking life into his teammates.
He has the keys to run the show for the Jets — a show that will be expected to do numbers in primetime and on regularly scheduled television, and hit proverbial syndication as a season to remember with a Super Bowl title at the end of it.
