SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A lot of the attention entering Monday’s Jets opener against the 49ers has naturally been on Aaron Rodgers and his return after missing all but 4 snaps last season.
But he will not be the one Jets starter returning after a missed season.
Chuck Clark will start at safety after missing all the 2023 season as a result of a torn ACL.
“I’m extremely excited,” Clark said last week. “At the tip of the day, it’s football for me, the sport I’ve all the time played. I’ll be even-keeled. I’ll be excited obviously, hell yeah, but I can’t let it get probably the most of me and get out of whack and get out of position or anything. I’ll be locked in obviously.”
Clark got here to the Jets in March 2023 in a trade from the Ravens.
The Jets were enthusiastic about what Clark could add to their defense, but he tore his ACL in the ultimate OTA of the spring and missed all the 12 months.
For the primary time in Clark’s life, he was a spectator.
Clark stayed in Latest Jersey and took part in meetings but was not a part of the games.
“That was different,” Clark said. “It was the primary time feeling that for me. It was a latest constructing for me on the time. I attempted to overcome that after which I needed to attack the injury. It was different, to say the least.”
Through the last week, Clark has been experiencing the lead-up to a game for the primary time in over a 12 months.
He said he knows he’ll have a moment pregame when he reflects on his journey back.
“I believe just this whole week getting back into the operation of the sport — OK, that is fast Friday, that is travel day, every little thing that I’ve missed,” Clark said. “It’s going to be an amazing feeling to get all that again. In the event that they do a flyover before the sport, this and that. I can’t wait for all of it.”
Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett spoke last week about how involved Aaron Rodgers is within the game-planning process.
“It’s very elaborate, we all the time come along with a plan as coaches, after which present it to him like we do every week, or any quarterback, after which just type of make clear every little thing with him,” Hackett said. “He watches a ton of tape, he has a ton of ideas similar to us, so we just wish to be certain that he’s comfortable with all of the things that we’re going to execute on the market, in order we develop the plan we proceed to get it to him, and have loads of talks, be certain that now we have every little thing that we would like, and go from there, so it’s pretty seamless. It’s just one other pair of eyes due to his experience.”
