Former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, now an analyst on ESPN, believes that Aaron Rodgers needs to play in preseason.
The comments about Rodgers, who has yet to play in preseason with the Jets, were made by Tannenbaum on ESPN on Wednesday.
Rodgers, a four-time MVP, did not play in preseason last year and then suffered a season-ending Achilles injury four plays into Week 1. So far, Rodgers has participated in several joint practices with the Jets against other NFL teams.
But he has not yet played in preseason, which has led to much debate about this decision. Now with the preseason finale on Saturday against the New York Giants, Tannenbaum said that it would be ideal for Rodgers to play in this game.
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Almost like a litigator, Tannenbaum made his case that Rodgers should play on Saturday.
“We all have high expectations for Aaron Rodgers and the Jets this year and let me tell you this: The only way you can maximize that is he has to go out in the preseason and play.” Tannenbaum said on ESPN.
“And he has to understand where he is to protect himself. We know in football, guys, that .1 second can make all the difference in the world between getting hit, a throwaway, a sack, whatever it may be.
“If I’m (Jets offensive coordinator) Nathaniel Hackett, I don’t know what I have in Aaron Rodgers – I have an expectation, I have hope. But we haven’t seen him play since September 11 a year ago. He’s 40-years old (and) coming off an Achilles tendon injury, we just don’t know if he has that same quickness.
“If we’re being honest and we’re watching Russell Wilson come out from under center in Pittsburgh, he looks like a skill-diminished player. Let’s hope for the Jets that’s not the case but until he’s actually trying to evade pressure, protect himself, we’re not going to know
“Not only if I’m Aaron Rodgers – I’d want to play…but if I’m the play-caller for the Jets, going on the road, on Monday Night Football, on ESPN, on opening day against Nick Bosa and company…is it a max-protection game? Is it a quick game? Can we really hold up against him? Do we still have quickness? We need to see that with live-action.
“To me, I think he does play. Obviously you want to protect him in a reasonable amount of way but the other thing is, if I’m Aaron Rodgers…I want to get out there, I want to get hit, I want to make sure that in terms of the psychological pressure of coming off the injury. When I’ve talked to players over the years, that to me is the last step. Not only do I want to play and perform, I want to face some live bullets before opening day.”
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Rodgers earned rave reviews for his performance on Wednesday in a joint practice against the Giants.