Aaron Rodgers Talks Achilles Rehab, Respect for Kirk Cousins on McAfee Show

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers hopes to come back this season after tearing his Achilles tendon, an injury that used to be a "death sentence" to athletes, as Rodgers himself put it on Tuesday.

That kind of timeline comes courtesy of an innovative procedure designed to speed up recovery times. Rodgers' orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache reportedly inserted a brace known as a "speed bridge" that helps protect the repair, a procedure originally performed on Cam Akers, which allowed the running back to defy his projected timeline by months.

On Sunday, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins ruptured his Achilles as well. According to Rodgers, in his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the two spoke in the aftermath.

"I really like Kirk," Rodgers said. "I've competed against him over the years. I have a lot of respect for him. I just got to talk to him, hopefully encourage him a little bit. It sucks, definitely sucks. He was playing really, really well. What a crazy situation. Everybody was trying to write him off and say, 'Everybody is going to get traded there, and they are going to blow that thing up,' and then they win a few in a row, and everybody said, 'Oh, now they are a playoff team,' and Kirk is obviously playing excellent. So disappointed for him and that injury."

Rodgers told McAfee he and a few other NFL players who suffered Achilles injuries are building an "Achilles factory" in Los Angeles where he is rehabbing. It does not sound like Cousins will join the factory, however.

"Because the rehab has been great, because I feel so good, obviously people have been interested in what I'm doing, and I've just been passing along what's been working for me," Rodgers said. "... It just depends what they are willing to do, and how much freedom they have to get out west, but definitely the type of surgery I did I think is going to be way more mainstream moving forward."

Rodgers also declined to blame surfaces for the NFL's recent spate of Achilles injuries, noting that he got hurt on turf while Cousins was hurt on grass.

"That just looked like a thing he's done 100 times," Rodgers said. "Pump one way, reset back, throw a seam. And you could tell by the video, you saw kind of the reverberation of his leg up and down, when I saw that I knew it was going to be an Achilles. It sucks."

Rodgers also discussed videos that surfaced over the weekend of him dropping back to throw before the Jets' narrow win over the Giants. Dropbacks were considered one of the progress markers for Rodgers, and he said he felt comfortable on Sunday.

"Every week seems to be there's a progression," Rodgers said.

One of the keys? According to Rodgers, the brace allowed him to get out of a boot quicker, which got blood flowing through the area at an earlier date. He believes that has accelerated the process "significantly."

"We're very careful with not trying to mess this thing up, so we've kept a real keen eye weekly on not just the strength of the tissue in my calf, but the actual structural integrity of that," Rodgers said.

Former NFL linebacker A.J. Hawk, who joins McAfee's show for Rodgers' appearances, asked Rodgers if he's walking on the beach yet.

"No, that's not very smart," Rodgers said.

The two bickered briefly, as Rodgers noted that he needs to keep his foot "above 90 degrees" while Hawk argued walking on the beach is one of the best rehabs.

"You don't understand science," Rodgers said.