Multiple Parties Confirm Jets QB Aaron Rodgers Has Rediscovered Key Ability

New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers looks like his old self in one important aspect of the game.

Florham Park, NJ -- August 21, 2024 -- Jets quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Peasley during practice. The New York Giants came to the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey to take part in a joint practice with the New York Jets. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

The arm strength was never in question.

Future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers can throw a football with the same zip and precision that he displayed 15 years ago.

When it comes to elite quarterbacks, it's more often a lower body breakdown that send them into retirement. There's no better example than New York Jets' legend Joe Namath and the knees that betrayed him.

Especially coming off a torn Achilles, the main challenge facing Rodgers in his return to game action is the response of his lower body. The 40-year-old quarterback will need to trust his surgically-repaired left leg and show the necessary mobility to avoid defensive pressure.

The good news that has emerged from training camp is that Rodgers has responded well to practicing without any physical limitations.

"You can tell that he's gaining more and more confidence in it because he's not afraid to run and leave the pocket. He's been doing it if you guys notice during our routes on air, during individual and group install," said head coach Robert Saleh one day after the Jets hosted the New York Giants for a joint practice in Florham Park.

From a bomb to Garrett Wilson to a short one to Allen Lazard, Rodgers looked phenomenal while throwing four touchdown passes against the Giants on Wednesday.

"I mentioned it yesterday, he's got plenty of mobility. He showed it in Carolina. He's been showing it in practice. It was really cool for him to do it again. There was obviously a couple of off-schedule throws that he made," said Saleh prior to the summer's final training camp practice.

Veteran tight end Tyler Conklin, who knows the quarterback's capabilities from their shared time in the NFC North, has been on the receiving end a number of those precise passes this summer. The Jets' TE1 claims he never doubted Rodgers's ability to return to form.

"I was not really too worried about it. Even at the end of last year when he came back and was doing stuff, at that point, he was moving really well," said Conklin. "Knowing who he is, and the type of person he is, there was never a worry about anything when it came to how he was going to come back."

There's no one at 1 Jets Drive who knows Rodgers better than offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and his observations are enough to excite even the most skeptical fan.

"I give so much credit to Aaron. The things that he has put himself through to be able to get back to where he is at right now. I think we saw a little bit of it yesterday, and he looks like he always has," said Hackett's "He is a little bit older, so he has lost a little bit of the speed he used to have, but just being able to work in that little area, be able to get to some scramble drills, run on a couple man coverages."

If the reports are accurate, and Rodgers's lower body holds up for the duration of the season, it should be a special year for the Green & White.