Several current members of the Green Bay Packers had an opportunity on Wednesday to react publicly to the season-ending injury suffered by former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers during the opening series of the New York Jets’ season on Monday night.
Rodgers, who won a Super Bowl and four MVPs while with the Packers, tore his Achilles tendon after just four plays in Week 1 and will miss the rest of the 2023 season.
Buy Packers TicketsThe general sentiment was grief and anguish for a well-respected player who was dealt the worst of injury hands.
Here’s a collection of reactions, from Matt LaFleur to David Bakhtiari, on the Rodgers injury:
Coach Matt LaFleur
LaFleur, Rodgers’ coach for four seasons, said he reached out to the Jets quarterback via text after the injury.
“Yeah, it’s tough. I feel for him. Never want to see anybody go through that. Any time you have a player of his caliber not playing football, it’s bad for our game. Thoughts are certainly with him. I’ve got so much respect for him, I’ve said it a million times, just how tough he is, the competitor he is. I knew when he went back down to the ground, I knew it had to be something serious because I’ve seen him play through so much.”
What’s the road to recovery look like for Rodgers? LaFleur tore his Achilles during his first season in Green Bay.
“I would think, somebody of his caliber, I would bet he has no problem coming back from it. I reeally believe it. I know the type of worker he is. It’s just going to be a choice of whether or not he wants to continue playing or not.”
QB Jordan Love
Like LaFleur, Love said he reached out to Rodgers via text after the injury.
“It sucks. I was excited to see him play. Sucks to see that happen to him on the first series. I feel for him. I know he’s going to bounce back, do his thing in recovery and come back stronger.”
“You never want to see that happen, and I feel for him.”
WR Christian Watson
“It was heart-breaking. I was talking to some guys on the team, like Samori, just how excited I was to see what he does with that team and organization. He’s a great guy, I love 12, even though I only got to be around him for a year, he’s a great football player, I loved being able to learn from him. I was excited to watch him play, so it’s heart-breaking to see him go down without really getting a shot.”
Like many other players, Watson said he prefers playing on grass over artificial turf.
RB A.J. Dillon
“That’s gut-wrenching,” Dillon said. “You never want to see that. Especially for someone you have a close relationship with, that you had a lot of time with. That’s terrible to see. I wish him nothing but a speedy recovery for him. Good mentor for me when he was here. Definitely made a big impact on my first three years. Definitely want him to get back up and running as soon as he can, do his thing. Thoughts and prayers to him. Never want to see anybody go through that, let alone someone you’re close with.”
LT David Bakhtiari
Bakhtiari made his case against turf fields and said he hopes Rodgers doesn’t retire in an interview with “The Rich Eisen Show.”
More from Bakhtiari
Congrats @nfl. How many more players have to get hurt on ARTIFICIAL TURF??! You care more about soccer players than us. You plan to remove all artificial turf for the World Cup coming up. So clearly it’s feasible.
I’m sick of this..Do better!— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) September 12, 2023
