Tuesday night’s episode of “Hard Knocks” featured the Jets for the first time in 2023, and Aaron Rodgers was the main attraction. Late in the first episode, though, the great quarterback shifted the focus to a teammate, informing cornerback Sauce Gardner during the Hall of Fame Game festivities that the second-year cover player would eventually receive his own gold jacket.
As this year’s Hall of Fame members were being recognised, Rodgers said to Gardner, “You’ll be here one day. When it occurs, I’ll be very old and grey.”
Rodgers’ strong praise is particularly noteworthy in light of the fact that Gardner, 22, is only one season into his NFL career. But it’s also standard operating procedure in New York, where the former Packers quarterback has already praised Gardner as possibly the league’s top cornerback. The latter is just coming off a season in which he won Defensive Rookie of the Year and led the NFL with 20 pass deflections.
Gardner admitted to Rodgers that his own “plan” is to hold onto the top spot long enough to be crowned in Canton. Furthermore, the first-round pick for 2022 is willing to match Rodgers’ playing time in order to accomplish this.
The cornerback said to Rodgers, “My mom always used to advise me to stay a kid as long as I could. However, if I’m truly going to do this, I’ll be older. I want to play in the league for forty years. In the NFL, I’m attempting to be a 40 year old.”
Aaron Rodgers was selected by the Green Bay Packers as the 24th overall pick in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He started his NFL career as a backup to Brett Favre but became the Packers’ starting quarterback in 2008. Rodgers quickly gained prominence for his accuracy, arm strength, and ability to read defenses. He led the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XLV, earning him the Super Bowl MVP award.
On August 15, “Hard Knocks” will return with Gardner, Rodgers, and the Jets. On September 11 in prime time against the Bills, they will begin their anticipated 2023 season.
