Stephen A. Smith warns Aaron Rodgers he will have to emulate 45-year-old Tom Brady upon potential 2023 return
Aaron Rodgers has been turning heads as he's hit recovery milestones seemingly at a blistering pace. Since tearing his Achilles in Week 1, video has been posted of him wearing shoes and walking around without crutches. He's thrown football as well. At this point, it seems that the only thing he hasn't done is sprint a 40-yard dash.
Analysts have slowly been coming aboard on the idea that a return this season isn't impossible, especially with the New York Jets somehow at 3-3. Speaking on First Take on Tuesday, show host Stephen A. Smith spoke practically about what his return would actually look like. First, he declared that as a quarterback, he doesn't need a fully healthy Achilles:
[00:10:26] "I was originally hesitant about Aaron Rodgers coming back, but then I thought about something. Well, he ain't LeBron James, damn it. He ain't got to run up and down the court for 82 nights. ... I mean, you get to 80, 85%. I say go for it. I'm just of that mindset."
He continued, recommending that No. 8 follow the example of Tom Brady when he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
"Go down. Go down like Tom Brady. You got to be like Eli Manning. If you see a rush coming, go down." [00:11:34]
In his youth, Tom Brady would sidestep defenders and take on the occasional trick play. However, near the end of his career, the most accomplished quarterback of all time would simply lie on the ground at the first sign of pressure in most situations to avoid injury.
Potential Aaron Rodgers return puts Jets offense on dicey tightrope
Of course, to pull off such a feat, Rodgers would need to have perfect awareness inside the pocket. Essentially, instead of scrambling around like he did in Green Bay at the first sign of trouble, he would need to instead immediately drop once the line breaks down.
In order to do this, he'd also need to know when someone's coming from his blindside, meaning that either communication with left tackle Mekhi Becton has to be perfect or No. 8 has to be perfect in his pre-snap reads. Also, the offense would need to pivot to a timing-based offense.
The ball would have to exit Aaron Rodgers' hand as fast as Tom Brady in his prime as well, which would mostly shrink the field for the offense. In other words, they might not get the time to wait for routes to develop 15+ yards down the field. Meanwhile, other teams would be playing with far fewer handicaps and would be coming at full speed.
It would be an impressive marvel to pull off for most fans, even if it doesn't amount to a season of offensive domination. With the team also at 3-3 on Zach Wilson's watch, the team is inching into the conversation of whether swapping out a much more comfortable Zach Wilson for a damaged version of Aaron Rodgers is the correct move.
If any of the above quotes are used, please credit First Take and H/T Sportskeeda.