Faced with the adversity of an Achilles tear four plays into his Jets career, Aaron Rodgers insisted he would rise again. And now, after a full offseason of leading the Jets in both OTAs and throughout a grueling training camp, Rodgers is up again and the four-time NFL MVP plans on leading the Green & White to new heights in 2024.

"I feel good about where I'm at with my body and what I've kind of put together," he said in August. "I feel like I've done different things throughout camp as far as rollouts and pulling up, getting out of the pocket and making plays, throwing back across my body, pump-faking, actually extending plays and getting some yards. So I feel like I've done a lot."

Rodgers, who returned to practice last December in the hope of a miraculous comeback, did not take a game snap this summer. When he takes the ball from center Joe Tippmann in San Francisco in a nationally televised Week 1 game against the 49ers, it will be his first live action in 364 days. But Rodgers, whose 4.52 TD-to-INT ratio is tops in NFL history and who could reach 60,000 career passing yards in September, believes a strenuous camp has him and his teammates prepared for the grind ahead.

"I would say the camp is much harder this year, and maybe the hardest in the last seven or eight in my career," he said, adding, "I think some of the older guys enjoy, to steal a coaching word, the 'callus' part of training camp, where you're kind of grinding."

'It Feels Like Pure Football'
The Jets certainly won't ease into the season. After a visit to the defending NFC champions in Frisco, they will have a short week before a date in Nashville against the Titans. Then the home opener follows on a Thursday night vs. the Patriots. Three games from Sept. 9 to 19, and Rodgers is confident a camp in which he practiced in joint sessions against the Panthers and Giants will have the Jets poised from the start.

"I think it's going to allow us to maybe be a little more ready," he said. "We haven't had a ton of injuries so far, so I like it; it's been great. You talk to the older guys, not a lot of complaints from many of those guys. Young guys don't know any better. So it's been good."

Throughout July and August, Rodgers was equal parts assassin, craftsman, conductor, surgeon, general and teacher. His legendary arm can get a ball through any window, and with a flick of the wrist, he can drop a ball from the heavens into the waiting hands of his target. He also has seen every defensive look, so he invites extra rushers because he knows where the coverage weakness lies. He is comfortable throwing no-look strikes with an uncanny accuracy. He can buy free plays with a legendary cadence that makes even the most disciplined defenders jittery. When the field shrinks inside the red zone, his decision-making speeds up.

"You're like, this dude can throw anything, he can throw it anywhere, so for me it feels like pure football," said WR Garrett Wilson. "I feel like I've said this one time before. It feels like I'm a kid again. I can kind of believe what I see is the best way to put it for me. It's always been a thinking game when you play receiver, and there's these adjustments within plays, within routes, and based on the quarterback, you know, you can either do them or you can't. But with Aaron, everything, you can do it, right?"

Reaching for That Common Goal
Having experienced success with coordinator Nathaniel Hackett before in Green Bay, Rodgers has ownership of the offense. He is a player-coach who has no wasted steps or words, stressing intentionality to his teammates at every turn.

"He's been running this offense for probably longer than I've been alive, so it's just upholding that standard of perfection, and that's being on the same page. That's the biggest thing," said RB Breece Hall. "He's big on communication. We all have to be on the same page so we can reach that common goal."

Jets CB Sauce Gardner called Rodgers the best quarterback he's ever seen. With Rodgers playing at a high level, he will change the dynamic for a defensive unit that hasn't been accustomed to playing with a lead.

"He just sees everything on the field, you know what I'm saying? He's just so smart, especially in those two-minute drills and stuff like that," Gardner said. "When it comes to knowing situations, he's elite. And you know, the whole offense, O-line, receivers, running backs, tight ends, they all follow suit, and he's just a great leader on and off the field, so it's just great for me as a cornerback to be able to go up against him. It's a blessing to go up against him and get better every time."

The Standard of Excellence
The most encouraging sights for Rodgers this summer were perhaps what he did with his feet. Although he'll turn 41 in December and is returning from a serious injury, he showcased movement that will allow him to improvise during the season.

"There were obviously a couple of off-schedule throws that he made," head coach Robert Saleh said. "You can tell that he's gaining more and more confidence in it because he's not afraid to run and leave the pocket. He's been doing it during our routes on-air, during individual and group install. He manufactures off-schedule plays."

Equipped with one of the NFL's most talented rosters, the determined Rodgers believes the Jets can win a championship and he can play at an MVP level.

"I mean, the standard has always been the standard," he said. "You're trying to find a way to push guys to see their potential, to believe in themselves and kind of bring them along. It's the same standard I hold myself to on the practice field: of excellence, of detail, of preparation."