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Recently acquired New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers appears to have suffered a potential injury during the team's OTAs session on Tuesday (May 23), according to ESPN's Dianna Russini.
"Aaron Rodgers off to the side, favoring his ankle, checking it. Something clearly not right," Russini tweeted from the practice. "Rodgers looks to be trying to put some weight on it while watching practice to the side. He is standing with the teams head strength and conditioning coach."
Russini later shared a video of Rodgers re-joining the offensive group, but not wearing a helmet.
Brian Costello, the Jets' beat reporter for the New York Post, tweeted that Rodgers wasn't expected to continue practicing following Russini's report.
"It looks like we won’t see Rodgers practice today. He is watching the drills with no helmet. The good news is he is still out here. If he was really hurt, he would be inside. It is also May 23."
The Jets acquired Rodgers in a blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers, with whom the quarterback spent the entirety of his 18-year NFL career, last month.
Rodgers had previously announced his intention to play for the Jets during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show prior to the completion of a deal. Rodgers met with Jets owner Woody Johnson and a contingent of team representatives in California on March 7. New York had previously acquired Rodgers' predecessor, Brett Favre, in a trade with the Packers in 2008, which led to the eventual four-time NFL MVP taking over as Green Bay's starting quarterback for the remainder of his tenure with the franchise.
In January, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Jets were "a very real scenario" in a possible trade for Rodgers even prior to the recent hiring of Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator, who had previously held the same position in Green Bay and Rodgers had publicly praised following his hiring as the Denver Broncos' head coach last offseason. Rodgers led the NFL's top scoring offense during the first of two consecutive Associated Press Most Valuable Player award-winning seasons in 2020, both of which took place during Hackett's tenure with the Packers.
Rodgers signed a three-year, $150 million extension with the Packers last offseason amid previous reports of being disgruntled with the franchise. The 39-year-old was coming off back-to-back MVP seasons ahead of the 2022 NFL season, which resulted in Green Bay missing the playoffs after clinching a postseason berth during the previous three consecutive seasons and 11 of the past 13 years.
Rodgers leads all Packers quarterbacks with 475 touchdowns and ranks second in franchise history behind only Favre in QB wins (147), completions (5,001) and passing yards (7,660).