The New York Jets looked awful on Monday Night Football, and many believe they are just a quarterback away from being a contender in the AFC. Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be that savior, but he tore his Achilles on the first drive of the season, which many assumed would end his season. We’ve been documenting his progress since surgery, and yesterday Rodgers mentioned on the Pat McAfee show that “it’s going to be a few fortnights” until he can fully return.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Old English, the word fortnight derives from the phrase “feowertyne niht,” which means fourteen nights. In other words, Rodgers is essentially saying he’s still a few two-week periods away from a possible return. But could he actually return to his starting role in 6-8 weeks? We explore this possibility and talk about Kirk Cousins’ Achilles tendon repair on today’s blog.
Rodgers’ Innovative Achilles Tendon Surgery
As we’ve documented on the blog already, Rodgers’ Achilles repair was performed using the Midsubstance Speedbridge Technique. It has become the standard for athletes who are hoping to safely and quickly return to a high level of sports. While it is a new and innovative technique, it can only speed up the recovery so much. As originally noted, Rodgers would still have a high risk of another rupture if he returned in four and a half months, which is right at the end of the playoffs. It’s possible that we see Rodgers doing more work in pre-game warmups, but the fact of the matter is the risk of re-rupture is still so high if he tries to return this season. He wants to defy the odds, but he also doesn’t want to make the injury worse by returning too early.
Rodgers underwent the right operation if he is hoping to return as quickly as possible, but it just doesn’t seem plausbile that he will be able to return this season given his injury and the Jets’ current playoff prospects. We wish him the best, but he’s still probably more than 3-4 fortnights away from being able to return to football at a professional level.
What About Kirk Cousins’ Achilles Surgery?
It has been quite interesting to see how the media is talking about Rodgers’ Achilles injury when compared to Cousins’ injury. We keep hearing that Rodgers underwent this innovative Midsubstance SpeedBridge Technique, but we’re not really hearing the same things be said about Cousins’ injury and surgery. While it’s known that Cousins underwent Achilles tendon repair, the quarterback and the team have not publicly commented on the type of procedure he underwent. It stands to reason that he underwent Midsubstance SpeedBridge Achilles Tendon Repair, but it’s possible that a different route was pursued given that Cousins’ injury occurred much later in the season and there’s simply no operation that would get him back on the field this year.
Should it come out that Cousins underwent a different Achilles correction, it will be fascinating to compare his rehab to Rodgers’ and see how the rest of their careers play out. Hopefully neither of them will suffer a re-rupture, and while there are plenty of other factors at play, it would be interesting to see how they progress through organized team activities, training camp, the preseason and the regular season if they opted for different surgeries and recovery plans. Like Rodgers, we wish Cousins all the best with his recovery, and we’ll keep our ears open to see if anyone confirms what type of corrective procedure Cousins underwent.
