Aaron Rodgers is ready to return, and a ‘little smile’ could mean he’ll make his fifth play in the Jets’ opener

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Robert Saleh laughed as the reporter finished asking a question that was there’s nothing to laugh at a year ago.

Did the New York Jets coach think he — and maybe the rest of the team — might get a little relief once Aaron Rodgers and the offense got to play five? season opener against San Francisco 49ers on Monday evening?

“Probably,” Saleh said Thursday, looking down and smiling. “No, everything is fine.”

Saleh, apparently realizing that he did not want to jinx it, resorted to a popular expression.

“I don’t even…” Saleh said with a smile. “If lightning… lightning… never mind.”

The Jets are certainly hoping that lightning never strikes twice. Or, in this case, that the 40-year-old Rodgers plays a lot longer than he did in his New York debut last year, when he tore his Achilles tendon on his left side in the fourth play of the season opener.

“Part of turning the page was getting back into training last year,” Rodgers said. “And the other part was, you know, OTAs and training camp and everything else. So I feel ready.”

On Monday night, he’ll take the field in San Francisco — facing the Northern California team he’s rooted for since he was a boy — two days after the one-year anniversary of one of the darkest moments of his life.

Rodgers admitted he might have a “little smirk” on his face as he plays for the fifth time against the 49ers.

“I’m sure they’ll catch it,” he said of the “Monday Night Football” cameras. “I’m in a good mood. I really had a year that I’ll remember in a lot of ways — some things were really tough, but some things were great.

“During the anthem, there’s always a moment to take a step back and gather your thoughts and thank the universe for giving you the opportunity to be on the field in your shin guards. So I’m going to be really excited about that.”

Rodgers has looked good all summer, passing the ball with the verve of his youth and appearing relatively spry despite his age, although there were no obvious signs of injury.

“He’s not a 40-year-old point guard,” Saleh said. “I think he’ll be OK.”

And in many ways, the Jets’ promising season largely hinges on him being significantly better than good.

“I think you always have something to prove,” Rodgers said. “It just changes who you prove it to, I think, the older you get.”

Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP with one Super Bowl ring from his time in Green Bay, has just one person to prove his worth to.

“At this point, I’m just myself,” he said. “I’m very proud of my performance. So when I go out on the field, I expect greatness. And because I’ve done it before. So that’s kind of the standard I hold myself to.”

Rodgers said the Jets’ goal remains to end the season with a trip to New Orleans, the site of the Super Bowl, in February. That hasn’t changed.

In recent weeks, the Jets have become the favorites in the bookmakers’ betting, ahead of the Buffalo Bills and win the AFC EastAccording to BetMGM Sports Bettingand end the NFL’s longest active playoff drought of 13 years. New York was also a popular choice to potentially represent the conference as the AFC’s representative in the Super Bowl, where the franchise hadn’t been since Joe Namath’s glory days in 1968.

Rodgers, once again leaning into his “I’ve done it before” attitude, recounted how former Packers coach Mike McCarthy in 2006 argued that his team’s toughest task would be dealing with success.

“Over the years,” Rodgers said, “I’ve realized how important those words are.”

They still linger in his memory, even as there is optimism in the Jets facility that this season may be the end of years of waiting for success for a team hungry for success.

“I think what (McCarthy) meant was you can’t just ride too high and then the whole world falls apart after a tough game,” Rodgers said. “No matter what happens on Monday, we win, the headlines are going to be that we’re going to the Super Bowl.

“We’re losing, same old Jets.

“I think we need to move away from some of these external themes and trust that if the program is good enough in Week 1, it’s going to be good enough for the rest of the season. So we need to trust the process. Be great competitors, show up, be professional and put yourself out there and let the chips fall where they may.”

NOTES: While edge rusher Haason Reddick remained resistant Saleh, who is looking for a new contract, still wouldn’t rule him out of playing in the opener. “It’s doable,” said Saleh, who added that the 49ers just got back WR Brandon Aiyuk and LT Trent Williams after they held out. “So you trust that your veterans who know how to do things right are going to be ready to go.”

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