Aaron Rodgers believes he can only get better after making his long-awaited NFL comeback for the Jets on Monday night.
After tearing his Achilles tendon in Week 1 of last season, Rodgers played his first complete game for New York as the Jets lost 32-19 at San Francisco.
Although the result was not what he had hoped for, he was understandably happy to have come through the match unscathed and expects to be able to ‘really go wild’ soon.
“Yeah, my body held up. I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable there,” he said on the Pat McAfee Show.
‘That means the more I play, the more chances there are for scrambles in every game, where I become even more confident and really let loose. But I feel 100 percent [confident]maybe I can do a little bit more each week.’
Aaron Rodgers made his return to the field for the New York Jets on Monday night
He expressed his optimism that he will become more comfortable the more he plays.
Rodgers added of his Achilles: ‘I actually felt good… I only had two shots. I got hit by an inside guy, I got sacked once – that was it. So I thought the pass protection was really nice all night.’
Rodgers completed 13 of 21 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown, also throwing an interception in the third quarter.
It wasn’t a vintage performance from the four-time MVP, but he did throw some good shots and he expressed his “gratitude” to be back on the field at all.
“It’s such a long road, I was thinking about all the different things that have happened in the past year,” he said of his thoughts at the start of the match. “Tomorrow is a year since I got injured – a lot has changed in my life in the past year. So I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
Rodgers added that he was texting with former teammates Randall Cobb and (McAfee Show co-host) AJ Hawk on the team bus prior to the game.
‘A lot of things just came to mind – [my] 20th season, all the rehabilitation that has taken place, all the ups and downs of the past year.
“…And when the anthem started, I felt this tremendous calm come over me. All the fear of getting hit and staying healthy left my body. I just went out there and felt good about being back out there.”
Rodgers gets a chance to continue his progress against the Titans this weekend.