NFL superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers made a brief debut with the New York Jets on Monday against Buffalo but went out in the opening minutes with an ankle injury.
The Jets announced during the first quarter that it was questionable whether Rodgers would return to the contest, the season opener for both teams.
The legendary 39-year-old passer spent 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, earning four NFL Most Valuable Player awards and a 2011 Super Bowl MVP award in leading the team to a title.
But Rodgers was traded to the Jets last April, with hopes to revive a New York squad that won its only Super Bowl in 1969 and hasn’t reached the NFL playoffs since 2010.
That made his early setback all the more emotional for long-suffering Jets supporters.
Rodgers threw an incomplete pass on first down at the Jets’ 38-yard line, and the Bills were handed a five-yard holding penalty after that.
On the next play, Rodgers was sacked by Buffalo’s Leonard Floyd for a 10-yard loss and was hurt on the play. He was helped off the field and taken into a tent for further medical evaluation before the Jets announced he might not be back.
Buffalo reserve defensive back Damar Hamlin, who collapsed after going into cardiac arrest when hit during a January game but recovered to make the team this season, was at the contest but not activated by the Bills to play.
