Aaron Rodgers has heard the conspiracy theories floating around the internet about his Achilles injury.
During his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Tuesday, the star quarterback hit back at online chatter suggesting he never ruptured his Achilles four plays into his Jets career as his recovery continues at an unforeseen pace.
“The same people talking about that, entertaining the possibility of conspiracy about my Achilles, could not possibly fathom a world in which anything related to this beautiful, experimental gene therapy could be, could have any issues with that,” Rodgers, 39, said.
His remarks follow recent commentary on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz,” when Billy Gil opined: “Is it crazy to wonder if [Rodgers] never actually tore his Achilles?”
Le Batard later responded: “I’d be willing to seriously put out the conspiracy theory. Better than the theory that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce is a propaganda concoction by the NFL to drive ratings. To throw out the conspiracy theory that Aaron Rodgers, since he went into the darkness retreat, all he found in the darkness is, ‘I must come back hell-bent on beating science.’”
Although Rodgers has been sidelined since Week 1, the four-time league MVP has maintained he wants to return to action this year.
“All those big brains out there, let me just shoot you straight. There’s not a lot of people that have the unique situation I was in,” he said. “I got hurt the first drive of the season, I don’t want to retire, I want to come back … My mindset from the morning after the injury was I’m going to try and do something nobody has done before.”
Rodgers, who was traded to the Jets in April following 18 seasons, then elaborated on how Father Time is impacting the urgency.
“My time is nearing the end. I don’t have as many years left as a [Warriors star] Klay Thompson or some of these amazing athletes who have been hurt earlier in their career. I want to get back on the field,” he said.
Though a mid-December return was floated Sunday, when the Jets lost to the Raiders, 16-12, and dropped to 4-5, Rodgers was quick to pump the breaks.
“I never said anything definitive,” he said Tuesday.
“[‘Sunday Night Football’s] Melissa [Stark] talked about having a conversation with my doctor … Nothing has changed as far as my timeline, we gotta be in the mix and I gotta be healthy and I definitely still wanna come back.”
The Jets are currently on the outside of the AFC playoff picture, with a road game against the Bills and a home contest with the Dolphins on deck.
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