Aaron Rodgers and Garett Wilson quickly built up a rapport this offseason, and so when the veteran signal-caller went down with an Achilles injury in the Jets’ Week 1 game, the second-year receiver made sure to embrace him.
At halftime of the Jets’ eventual 22-16 overtime win over the Bills, Wilson went up to Rodgers in the training room after he had been injured just four plays into his Jets tenure.
The 39-year-old had a short but apologetic message for the 23-year-old.
“At halftime I just went in and checked on him in the training room and made sure I gave him a huge hug, told him I love him. It really hurt my heart. He told me, ‘Sorry, kid.’ Just like that, ‘Sorry, kid,’ and he loved me back and that was it. Just truly heartbroken, for real. My emotion at that moment was similar to how it is now, really felt for the man,” Wilson said on ESPN Radio’s “Bart & Hahn” on Tuesday.
On the fourth snap of his first offensive series, Rodgers was sacked by Bills defensive end Leonard Floyd and then left the game, and eventually limped off the field into the tunnel.
On Tuesday, an MRI exam confirmed that Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon, which will require season-ending surgery.
Rodgers had joined the team in the spring and quickly became the face of the Jets, who had Super Bowl aspirations after years of disappointment.
Wilson said Rodgers’ injury “sucks,” considering the work the quarterback put in to acquaint himself with Gang Green.
“My heart hurts for Aaron, first off. Just seeing him last night, and the emotion that was going into him getting out there,” Wilson said on ESPN Radio. “Being out there, and everything that we had put into this offseason to be able to play in the games. And it sucks, man, because you make it through a whole training camp, you make it through OTAs — something that he didn’t have to do by any means but he wanted to be there. And he did everything the right way.
“To see him go down like that, in our first game, is heartbreaking. My [heart’s] with him, I’m praying for him. It sucks, but that’s just the reality of the game we play is that stuff like that can happen. … I’m confident he’ll go about it the right way.
“He’s seen it all in this league. He’s got my support 100 percent.”
Throughout training camp and the preseason, Rodgers praised Wilson, even going as far as to say the wideout shared traits with superstar Davante Adams.
In the one preseason game, Rodgers threw a brilliant touchdown pass to Wilson to cap off a strong outing against the Giants.
“For our whole team, we love Aaron, and everyone there loves him. He brings a certain energy with him and man, we were trying to imitate it when he went down and win for him because he deserved to be out there.”
And in the second half, the Jets did indeed close out a win, despite being down 13-6 and without their QB1, thanks in part to the ridiculous touchdown that Wilson snagged in the fourth quarter to help the Jets tie the game.
With Zach Wilson as the team’s de facto starting quarterback now, the Jets will take on the Cowboys on Sunday.