Aaron Rodgers Update 4
Close, but no cigar...
The Jets Thwarted Our Forecast…
The New York Jets season has come to an end with a final record of 7-10, a disappointing outcome that blew up our Rodgers return to play forecast. Our forecast was contingent on the Jets making the playoffs, but that did not materialize. Despite this, our conviction remains that had the Jets made the playoffs, and there was a chance at making Super Bowl LVIII, Rodgers would have been physically prepared to play.
In our last update on Rodgers (dated December 1, 2023), eleven weeks post-surgery, he was activated to the 53-man roster and has engaged in limited practice since then. By December 12th, he took the role of scout team quarterback for 7-on-7. On December 15th, Rodgers took reps as a scout team linebacker and made a "leaping" interception. Unfortunately, there is no footage of the "leaping" interception, but there are coaches and teammates who have confirmed it. From these reports, we can infer that Rodgers possesses a relative strength reactive strength capacity in the surgically repaired Achilles tissue.
It is important to state that our initial forecast never asserted Rodgers would attain Point B - the "optimal physical state," but rather, he would be in a physical state that allowed him to play at the level of competition. We made a bet with Rodgers being a four-time MVP and seventeen-year veteran, he and the Jets coaching staff would have made schematic adjustments that allowed him to play even with him not being at Point B - a position every team has been in. In being cleared for over a month for 7-on-7, the next step would be to clear him for 11-on-11, and we believe if the Jets were in playoff contention, Rodgers would have returned to 11-on-11 and taken the field for the Jets, as he would have given the franchise the best opportunity to make it to the Super Bowl.
Closing Thoughts… For Now
It was an exciting storyline for us as strength practitioners to follow the Rodgers situation this NFL season. Obviously, Rodgers will keep training this offseason and has put himself in a great position for the start of the 2024 training camp and we will continue to follow up on how his return to performance.
We learned many things from this situation, one of which is it appears the majority of medical doctors do not have a comprehensive understanding of how to train connective tissue, and by train, we mean: load connective tissue with the specific intent to stimulate the development of more and better architecture as well as increase that tissues ability to transmit force and bear load. This is a topic we delve into more detail in a subscriber video.
Leave a comment and let us know what you learned from following this storyline, as we would love to hear your thoughts!