NFL legend Joe Theismann talks Aaron Rodgers injury, Zach Wilson's chance to shine

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NFL legend Joe Theismann joined the rest of the NFL world in holding its collective breath when Aaron Rodgers left his New York Jets debut after four snaps with an injury.

Rodgers’ injury turned out to be far more serious after he was helped off the field and put onto a cart and later into a walking boot. It was revealed Tuesday that Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles tendon and will miss the rest of the 2023 season. Zach Wilson was named the starting quarterback in his place.

"I was hopefully thinking that it was just an ankle injury that he would be able to recover from," Theismann told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "But then when he tried to stand up, it didn’t look like somebody was trying, you know, we’ve all twisted our ankle and different things like that. And then when he went down and sat down the way he did, I was fearful it might be the Achilles."

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Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets sits on the turf after suffering an injury during the game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on September 11, 2023. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Tuesday it was Wilson’s team now. The No. 2 overall pick of the 2021 draft was demoted to the third string toward the end of last season.

In the time he spent under the tutelage of Rodgers, he earned the backup role. He threw a touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson and made a few key plays down the stretch to help the Jets force overtime. Xavier Gipson would eventually call game on a punt-return touchdown and the Jets came away with a 22-16 win.

Theismann said he thought