Aaron Rodgers might have ‘a little smirk’ before his 5th snap in the Jets’ opener to mark his return

AP Pro Football Writer

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Robert Saleh chuckled as a reporter finished asking a question that was no laughing matter a year ago.

Did the New York Jets coach think he — and perhaps the rest of the franchise — might exhale a bit when Aaron Rodgers and the offense reach the fifth snap of their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night?

“Probably,” Saleh said Thursday while looking down and smiling. “Nah, we’re fine.”

Saleh then went to use a popular expression when he apparently realized he didn’t want to jinx anything.

“I’m not even …,” Saleh said with a grin. “If lightning … lightning … never mind.”

The Jets certainly hope lightning never strikes twice. Or, in this case, that the 40-year-old Rodgers plays a whole lot longer than he did last year in his debut with New York when he tore his left Achilles tendon on the fourth snap of the season opener.

“Part of the turning the page was last year coming back to practice,” Rodgers said. “And then the other part was, you know, OTAs and training camp and all that. So I feel ready.”

He’ll take the field in San Francisco on Monday night — against the team he grew up rooting for in northern California, and two days removed from the one-year anniversary of one of his darkest moments.

Rodgers acknowledged he might have “a little smirk” after he takes his fourth snap against the 49ers.

“I’m sure they’ll catch it,” he said of the “Monday Night Football” cameras. “I’m in a good mind space. Really had a year to remember in a lot of ways — some really difficult things with some great things as well.

“There’s always a perspective moment during the anthem to collect your thoughts and kind of send gratitude out to the universe for the opportunity to even be standing on the field in pads. So I’ll be really excited about that.”

Rodgers has looked good all summer, delivering passes with the zip of his youth and appearing relatively spry — belying his age while showing no signs of the injury.

“He’s not a 40-year-old quarterback,” Saleh said. “I think he’s going to be just fine.”

And in many ways, the Jets’ promising season largely depends on him being much better than fine.

“I think you always have something to prove,” Rodgers said. “Just kind of changes who you’re proving that to, I think, the older you get.”

For Rodgers, the four-time NFL MVP with one Super Bowl ring from his days in Green Bay, there’s only one person to whom he wants to prove himself.

“Just myself at this point,” he said. “I have a lot of pride in my performance. So, when I take the field, I expect greatness. And because I’ve done it before. So, that’s the kind of standard I hold myself to.”

Rodgers has said the goal for the Jets remains ending their season with a trip to New Orleans, the site of the Super Bowl in February. That hasn’t changed.

In recent weeks, the Jets have become the betting favorite to overtake the Buffalo Bills and win the AFC East, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, and end the NFL’s longest active playoff drought at 13 years. New York has also been a popular pick to potentially represent the conference as the AFC’s representative in the Super Bowl, somewhere the franchise hasn’t been since the glory days of Joe Namath during the 1968 season.

Rodgers, again relying on his been there, done that approach, spoke about how former Packers coach Mike McCarthy insisted in 2006 that his team’s toughest task would be handling success.

“As the years went on,” Rodgers said, “I realized how important those words are.”

They continue to stick in his mind, even with optimism brimming around the Jets’ facility that maybe, possibly this could be the season that ends all those years of waiting for a franchise starving for success.

“I think what (McCarthy) meant was you just can’t ride the highs too high and then the whole world’s crashing down after a tough game,” Rodgers said. “Regardless what happens on Monday, we win, the headlines are going to be, you know, we’re going to the Super Bowl.

“We lose, same old Jets.

“I think we need to get away from some of those outside themes and trust that the program, if it’s good enough Week 1, it’s good enough the rest of the season. So we’ve got to trust the process. Be great competitors, show up, be professionals and show out on the field and let the chips fall where they may.”

NOTES: While edge rusher Haason Reddick remained a holdout as he seeks a new contract, Saleh still wouldn’t rule him out to play in the opener. “It’s feasible,” said Saleh, who added the 49ers just got WR Brandon Aiyuk and LT Trent Williams back after they held out. “So you trust that your veterans who know how to do things the right way will get themselves ready to play.” … WR Mike Williams (knee) was a full participant at practice after being eased in during training camp while still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 3 last season while with the Chargers. “He could be ready for 60 plays and we’re still going to be very smart with how we use him,” Saleh said. … LT Tyron Smith had a veteran rest day. … Backup OL Wes Schweitzer sat out with a hand injury.

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