New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Suffers Apparent Injury

It wasn't a great day for the New York Jets or their newly acquired quarterback on Tuesday. Aaron Rodgers, the former Green Bay Packer and four-time MVP, aggravated his left calf during today's practice and struggled to complete passes all afternoon.

After releasing a pass (interception), Aaron Rodgers clutches his left calf. He’s limping around, but stays in for the next play. This was his “good” calf. Injured the right in OTAs. #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) August 15, 2023

Rodgers previously missed time during organized team activities with a right calf injury. This appears to be a separate, unrelated injury.

It was a tough day overall for Rodgers. Per ESPN's Rich Cimini, Rodgers completed only eight of his 20 pass attempts. He also threw an interception prior to checking on his calf.

The Jets are one of the NFL's most fascinating and talked-about teams heading into the 2023 season, largely due to Rodgers. If the Jets can drastically improve on a passing attack that ranked 26th in net yards per passing attempt in 2022, many assume they'll contend for a Super Bowl.

However, it remains to be seen just how much of a boost Rodgers can provide. He's set to turn 40 years old this season and is coming off a middling season that included career worsts in passing yards per game (217.4) and passer rating (91.1). Still, even that level of play would be an improvement for the Jets; they combined for an NFL-worst 75.0 passer rating last season.

The perception is that the Jets don't necessarily need Rodgers in top form to make noise this season, but the truth is it takes an elite offense to be a true contender in today's NFL. The last Super Bowl participant to finish the regular season outside the top seven in points scored was the 2015 Denver Broncos. An Aaron Rodgers-led offense has only finished in the top seven once in the past six seasons. Rodgers can't just be better than what the Jets had before if they're going to achieve their goals; he needs to be great.