Aaron Rodgers Injured In Jets Debut On Monday Night Football — Watch Video

By Dave Nemetz
Aaron Rodgers Injury Update Jets Video Elsa/Getty Images

The New York Jets' season got off to a painful start.

Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers was injured on the first drive of the Jets' Week 1 game against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, crumpling in pain after a sack and hitting the turf after trying to stand up and stay in the game. (Watch video of the play below.) Rodgers was helped off the field and taken into the blue medical tent before being taken back to the locker room for further evaluation, with backup quarterback Zach Wilson taking over for him on the field. Initial reports are that it's an ankle injury, and Rodgers has been declared out of the game.

Updated: It is suspected that Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon, which if true would end his season.

Rodgers was the star acquisition for the Jets this off-season, with the four-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion coming to the Jets in a trade in April after spending the past 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers. At age 39, Rodgers is still considered one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but he joins a Jets team that went 7-10 last season and hasn't made the playoffs in more than a decade.

The trade for Rodgers ignited a wave of optimism among Jets fans, with the team's training camp and preseason games this year documented by HBO's Hard Knocks. Rodgers acknowledged the extra attention on his team when it was chosen for Hard Knocks, saying: "I understand the appeal with us... There's a lot of eyes on me, a lot of eyes on our team. A lot of expectations for our squad."

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