FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Aaron Rodgers' next snap in a game for the New York Jets will come almost exactly a year since his last.
Coach Robert Saleh announced Thursday that Rodgers and the rest of the Jets’ starters will not play in the preseason finale against the Giants on Saturday night.
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The 40-year-old Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon on his fourth snap in his debut with the Jets last year on Sept. 11 against Buffalo. He said Tuesday he didn’t "really have a preference” as to whether he played in the preseason finale, which will be the Jets’ final dress rehearsal before the opener at San Francisco on Sept. 9.
With Saleh's decision, none of the Jets' projected starters will have played in any of the preseason games.
“This year, we’ve had three different scrimmages," Saleh said, “and I feel like the amount of work we got in has been very productive.”
Rodgers is healthy and had a standout training camp, showing no signs of the injury. Saleh also said the four-time NFL MVP has shown “plenty” of mobility.
“I feel good about where I’m at with my body and what I’ve kind of put together,” Rodgers said Tuesday.
Rodgers said training camp this summer was “much harder this year and maybe the hardest in the last seven or eight of my career.”
As of earlier this week, Rodgers said Saleh told him the starters had gotten about 300 more snaps than they did at that time last year.
Saleh said his decision to not play any of his projected starters had nothing to do with concerns over potential injuries.
“You can get hurt at practice,” he said. "You can get hurt brushing your teeth, for crying out loud. This has everything to do with whether or not we're preparing ourselves properly and not just looking at checking the old coach's box: 'Ah, I feel good about it. We got to go play.'
“Does it really help us in Week 1? We've played them in the past and this whole offseason, we've taken a different approach to how we're preparing our guys for Week 1 and hopefully it pans out.”
Saleh told reporters before the teams’ joint practice Wednesday he decided whether to play the first-teamers but wouldn’t divulge the plan because he hadn’t yet told the players. He said Thursday he thought the extended work the starters and key backups got in three joint practices with Washington, Carolina and the Giants was more valuable than what they might get in the preseason finale.
Rodgers and the starters played two series last year in the preseason finale against the Giants. Rodgers connected with Garrett Wilson for a touchdown on the Jets’ second possession.
“Different reasons last year as compared to this year,” Saleh said. “I’m not going to get into those, but I feel like we’ve gotten so much work done, so much good work with three quality opponents over the course of three weeks.”
Saleh said rookie Adrian Martinez, last season's UFL MVP, will get the start against the Giants and fellow rookie Andrew Peasley will play the second half — meaning Tyrod Taylor, Rodgers' veteran backup, also will sit.
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