Robert Saleh: It isn't woe is me for team, but a lot of hurt for Aaron Rodgers
The Jets traded for Aaron Rodgers this offseason, believing the veteran quarterback would put a talented team over the top. That dream lasted four plays.
Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon and will undergo season-ending surgery, Jets coach Robert Saleh said Tuesday.
"He's down," Saleh said, via a live stream on YouTube. "He's, as you can imagine with everything that he's invested and it lasting four plays, he's obviously a little disappointed."
Rodgers' season is over, but the Jets' season is not.
Jets rookie Xavier Gipson returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown in overtime Monday night for a walk-off win, stunning the Bills 22-16.
Even though Caesars Sportsbook moved the Jets' Super Bowl odds from 16-1 to 35-1, Saleh and the Jets aren't counting themselves out after one game.
"I don't know why people are trying to put an obituary onto our team name," Saleh said. "Aaron is an unbelievable piece to this whole thing, and we love him, but I think there's 52 other guys in the locker room, plus the 16-practice squad guys who believe that we can do a hell of a lot of good things here. We've got a championship-caliber defense. We've got great skill guys on the offensive side of the ball. Our offensive line is continuing to gel and get better. We're excited about our group. We've worked hard over the last couple of years with players, coaches, scouts, G.M., building a pretty cool organization, so there's a lot of faith in the locker room on the things that we can still accomplish this year. While the outside world can go ahead and write whatever story they want to write, there's still the true story being written in this building."
Saleh said he and Rodgers did not discuss the quarterback's future, leaving that conversation for another day.
They will miss him this season, but Saleh declared faith in Zach Wilson to lead the Jets.
"I feel more for Aaron than anyone," Saleh said. "He's invested so much into this organization, so much into this journey that's embarked on and wanting to be a part of what we've got going here and how much he's invested not only in this organization but his teammates, himself, this fan base, this city. I have a lot of emotions for him. It's really all about him. I don't look at it like 'woe is me here' for the organization. I think guys are excited about being able to step and continue the things we've been building. But a lot of hurt for Aaron."
