Aaron Rodgers has arrived at Levi’s Stadium ahead of his much-anticipated return to the NFL on Monday Night Football.
Rodgers and the New York Jets take on the San Francisco 49ers in the quarterback’s first appearance since rupturing his Achilles on debut last year.
A few hours before kickoff, the 40-year-old was seen making his way towards the locker room in Santa Clara.
The quarterback was wearing dark sunglasses and a cap which appeared to commemorate the start of his 20th season in the NFL.
Rodgers’ black Huega House cap carried the number 20 and what appeared to be the silhouette of Rodgers throwing a football.
Aaron Rodgers arrives at Levi’s Stadium ahead of his much-anticipated return to the NFL
The 40-year-old quarterback tore his Achilles four plays into his debut for the New York Jets
Ahead of this first game back, Rodgers opened up on his 12-month journey back to the field.
‘It’s been a tough year. (But) It’s probably been the best year of my life, though, at the same time,’ he told ESPN.
‘When you get hurt in a significant way, it’s a reset on life and everything just stops.’
The 40-year-old added: ‘You become sedentary, you can’t move, you have to be waited on by people, you have to taken care of.’
Rodgers also discussed the ‘life lesson’ he took from ‘just sitting, and all the frustration, sadness, heartbreak. But it was a total reset for my life and I’m so thankful for it.’
Rodgers thought his remarkable NFL career was finished after he suffered the nasty injury against the Buffalo Bills in week one of the 2023 season.
‘I went down, with everything flashing before your eyes – the 18 years in Green Bay, the trade, the spring, the excitement, the summer, the city… and then just thinking: “That’s going to be the last time”.’
‘Because I know I’m old and the rehab I knew was going to be tough. So in the training room, I really thought: “Damn that’s how I’m going to go out?’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk