The two current quarterbacks with the most MVP awards still haven’t played against each other.
Sunday night’s Kansas City Chiefs at New York Jets game was supposed to represent the first meeting between Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers, but Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon before even completing a pass in Week One.
“Obviously, it sucks for not only him and his team but for the entire league because he’s such a great player,” Mahomes said. “You want to play the teams at their best.”
The first Mahomes-Rodgers matchup was supposed to take place in Week Eight of the 2019 season, but Mahomes’ dislocated kneecap prevented him from playing, and Rodgers led the Green Bay Packers to a 31-21 win at Arrowhead Stadium.
Then, in Week Nine of the 2021 season, Rodgers missed the game after contracting Covid-19. Mahomes defeated backup Jordan Love, who made his first career start, and the Packers 13-7 at Arrowhead.
For a moment it looked like Mahomes’ availability might be in peril for this weekend. During the 41-10 victory against the Chicago Bears, he injured the same ankle that he hurt during last year’s divisional playoff game, but he returned to the game, experienced no ill effects and said he was fine.
“More just being a bad ankle,” Mahomes said, “it scared me a little bit more. We taped it up, and then I was able to go.”
That Bears victory came less than a week after Mahomes, a two-time MVP, earned a well-deserved raise.
In fact, both Mahomes and Rodgers, a four-time MVP, recently restructured their contracts.
The underpaid Mahomes, who had dropped to eighth among quarterbacks in average annual salary, received more upfront and guaranteed money as part of his $450 million contract, which he signed in 2020 and goes through 2031.
He now will earn $210.6 million between 2023 and 2026 — the most money in NFL history over a four-season span — and his compensation for those years is now guaranteed.
About a month earlier, Rodgers renegotiated to give his new team more flexibility.
Rodgers was due to make close to $110 million in guarantees but instead signed a two-year, $75 million contract. That kind of pay cut is very rare and one that will provide financial flexibility for the Jets over the next two years.
But in the present, that franchise — particularly on the offensive side behind backup quarterback Zach Wilson — has struggled without Rodgers.
The Jets offense ranks dead last in both total yards and passing yards. Wilson’s quarterback rating of 57.0 ranks 34th among all NFL passers with at least 14 attempts.
“They’re trying to find that identity on offense,” Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill said. “We can’t allow them to get that footing. They’ve got really, really good personnel.”
The Jets offense does have talent at wide receiver and running back but are obviously missing the integral part at quarterback after Rodgers went down.
Will fans ever get to see a matchup between Rodgers, who will turn 40 in December, and Mahomes?
“I mean, I have no idea,” Mahomes said. “I’m just praying for him, that he’s able to heal himself, rehab and hopefully (be) back again next year and that maybe we get the opportunity then.”
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