Report shares what the NFL thinks about Rodgers after his Achilles injury

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers turns 41 in December and has understandably not yet found his best form this season. Come Due to his torn Achilles tendon, he struggled on offense four times in New York's Week 1 game last September.

For an article published on Wednesday, Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano of ESPN asked individuals from around the league what they noticed in Rodgers' first two starts of the current season.

“More of a point guard right now who distributes,” an unnamed veteran AFC personnel official said of Rodgers. “Not the wizard he once was.”

Rodgers appeared rusty in the season-opening 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on September 9, but then completed 18 of 30 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns in the 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans last Sunday. Jorie Epstein of Yahoo Sports pointed out that Rodgers only completed three passes of more than nine air yards against Tennessee.

“He made some great shots late in the game,” one scout said of Rodgers' performance at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. “Without them, the Jets wouldn't have won the game. I think for being out of real action for so long, he was pretty good.”

On Tuesday, Rodgers recognized He wants the offense to “start faster” during games, starting with Thursday's prime-time home game against the New England Patriots (1-1). According to ESPN stats, He goes into this competition ranked 18th in the NFL among qualified players with an adjusted QBR of 47.8 and 23rd with a completion percentage of 60.8 And 25th with 343 passing yards on the season. He threw three touchdown passes and a single interception in his first two starts.

“They say the ball still goes exactly where he wants it to go when he throws It and that he has brought a certain confidence to the offense that it didn't have last season,” Graziano added of conversations he's had with people around the NFL about Rodgers. “People readily admit that he's not very mobile and he's not going to put up big numbers. But if a throw needs to be made this season, the Jets can reasonably expect that it be made.”

To Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sports Betting Rodgers was listed as the favorite to win this year's Comeback Player of the Year at +150 odds, suggesting that at least some members of the gambling community believe the future Hall of Famer will get stronger and better between the start of play on Thursday and Week 18.