The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Jets’ Rodgers says: ‘I shall rise yet again’
Aaron Rodgers’ season is over. It appears he might not be ready to call it a career.
“The night is darkest before the dawn,” the New York Jets quarterback wrote on Instagram on Wednesday night. “And I shall rise yet again.”
Rodgers is out for the season with a torn left Achilles tendon injury, suffered on the fourth snap of his debut with his new team Monday night. The 39-year-old quarterback had not commented publicly since the injury during the Jets’ season-opening 22-16 overtime win over Buffalo.
“Thank you to every person that has reached out, called, texted, DM’D, connected through a friend, etc.,” Rodgers wrote. “It has meant a ton to me, and I’ll try and get back to all of you soon.
“I’m completely heartbroken and moving through all of the emotions, but deeply touched and humbled by the support and love. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I begin the healing process today.”
Rodgers closed his post with: “Proud of my guys, 1-0.”
There had been some doubt as to whether Rodgers would consider retiring, although Jets coach Robert Saleh offered some optimism earlier Wednesday.
“I haven’t gone down that road with him,” Saleh said. “I mean, I’d be shocked if this is the way he’s going to go out. But at the same time, for him, he’s working through a whole lot of head space, things that he needs to deal with. That will be the last thing I talk to him about.”
Despite Rodgers’ Instagram post, it will surely be a conversation to be had with the quarterback, who Saleh said was going for some medical consultations to determine his next step, which will include surgery. Rodgers is also facing a long, arduous recovery and rehabilitation from the injury.
“I would think that somebody of his caliber, I would bet that he would have no problem coming back from it,” said Matt Lafleur, Rodgers’ former coach in Green Bay. “I really believe it. I know the type of worker he is, and so it’s just going to be a choice of whether or not he wants to continue to play or not.”
Rodgers turns 40 in December and had considered retirement before coming out of a self-reflective darkness retreat in February and saying he intended to continue to play — and wanted it to be with the Jets.
His trade to New York from Green Bay in April raised expectations for a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs in 12 years, to the point there were high hopes for a run at a Super Bowl. Now, Rodgers won’t be able to contribute on the field the rest of this season, but the Jets hope he’ll still help the team end its postseason drought by staying connected to his teammates and coaches.
“It’s important for him, his mental health and healing,” Saleh said. “But his presence, his words, his verbiage, like I’ve said, he’s as much a football coach as he is a player. And just having his presence, his thoughts, his words and his leadership, I think anybody would want that.”
• The NFL Players Association wants the league to switch all its fields to natural grass, calling it “the easiest decision the NFL can make.”
Executive director Lloyd Howell issued a statement saying NFL players “overwhelmingly prefer it and the data is clear that grass is simply safer than artificial turf.” Howell said the issue “has been near the top of the players’ list during my team visits and one I have raised with the NFL.”
The players’ union called for the change less than 48 hours after a season-ending injury to four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Howell said in his statement they know there is an investment to making such a change. But he said there’s a bigger cost to the
NFL if the league keeps losing its best players to “unnecessary injuries.” He noted the NFL flips surfaces to grass for World Cup or soccer exhibitions.
“But artificial surfaces are acceptable for our own players,” Howell said. “This is worth the investment and it simply needs to change now.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday on ESPN’S “First Take” that the playing surface is a “complex issue,” and part of the collective bargaining agreement covered the use of science to measure injuries. The league and the union use the same data to gauge injuries.
Goodell noted Rodgers had one of two Achilles tendon injuries in the NFL’S first week, with the other on grass.
• The Seattle Seahawks are likely to be down both their starting offensive tackles for Sunday’s game at Detroit. Seattle coach Pete Carroll said that both left tackle Charles Cross (toe) and right tackle Abraham Lucas (knee) were “hurting,” after each suffered injuries in the Week 1 loss to the Rams.
Lucas was placed on injured reserve, meaning he will miss the next four games. Lucas aggravated a knee injury centered around the patella, while Cross suffered a sprained big toe on his right foot.
• The Carolina Panthers placed Brady Christensen (biceps) on injured reserve, leaving them without both starting guards entering Monday night’s home opener against the New Orleans Saints. The Panthers were already without guard Austin Corbett, who has not played since tearing an ACL in last year’s regular-season finale.
Panel approves strict participation policy
The NBA took steps to try to ensure that its star players appear in more games, particularly nationally televised matchups and the inseason tournament that is being added this year.
The league’s board of governors approved a new player participation policy that will take effect for this upcoming season, replacing the player resting policy that was implemented prior to the 2017-18 season. The new rules focus primarily on star players — someone who has been an All-star or on the ALL-NBA team in any of the prior three seasons. There are 50 players who fit into the star category.
“It’s a shared view by everyone in the league, it’s not just coming from the league office,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “I think whether it’s our teams, our players association, individual players, I think there’s an acknowledgement across the league that we need to return to that principle that this is an 82-game league . ... I think there’s a statement of principle that if you’re a healthy player in this league, the expectation is that you’re going to play.”
Increased player participation is a top priority for Silver as the league negotiates a new media rights deal. The current deal ends in 2025.
Teams will have to manage their rosters to ensure only one star player is unavailable per game at the most.
The league will have the ability to penalize teams that violate the policy by fining them $100,000 for the first infraction and $250,000 for the second. Each successive violation will increase by $1 million.
The NBA also wants teams to maintain a balance between the number of one-game absences a star player has at home and on the road, as well as refrain from any long-term shutdowns in which a star player stops playing games.
The league will allow teams to submit written requests in advance for older players for back-to-back games. This is for a small pool of stars who are either 35 or older at the start of the season or have played in over 34,000 regular-season minutes or 1,000 games in their careers. Lebron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry all fit in that category.
WNBA Aces, Sun begin playoffs with victories
Chelsea Gray had 20 points, Jackie Young added 18 points and the top-seeded Aces beat the Chicago Sky 87-59 in Las Vegas to begin a WNBA playoff series. The defending champion Aces host Game 2 of the best-of-3 series on Sunday.
SUN 90, LYNX 60>> Dewanna Bonner scored 17 points and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds as host Connecticut opened the WNBA playoffs with a rout of Minnesota. Game 2 of the bestof-3 series will be in Connecticut on Sunday.
Canada, U.S. triumph in Davis Cup play
Canada started the defense of its Davis Cup title by beating Italy 3-0 in the group stage of the finals, with the United States, Britain and the Czech Republic also winning.
Alexis Galarneau beat Lorenzo Sonego 7-6 (8), 6-4 before Gabriel Diallo also won in straight sets — 7-5, 6-4 — against Lorenzo Musetti to assure victory for the Canadians in the Unipol Arena in Bologna, Italy. Galarneau then teamed up with Vasek Pospisil to win the doubles match, too.
Canada beat Australia in last year’s final to win the biggest men’s team event in tennis for the first time. Both countries qualified directly to the group stage of the finals, which consists of four groups of four teams — with the top two in each advancing to the Final 8 taking place in Malaga, Spain, in November. Australia opened with a 2-1 loss to Britain in their group in Manchester, England.
The Americans opened their match in Split against host nation Croatia with a 6-4, 6-2 win for Mackenzie Mcdonald over Dino Prizmic only for 11th-ranked Frances Tiafoe to lose to No. 77 Borna Gojo, 6-4, 7-6 (6).
In the deciding doubles, Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram beat Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-2 to earn a 2-1 win for the U.S.