SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Most of the attention entering Monday’s Jets opener against the 49ers has naturally been on Aaron Rodgers and his return after missing all but four snaps last season.
But he is not the only Jets starter returning after a missed season.
Chuck Clark will start at safety after missing the entire 2023 season due to a torn ACL.
“I’m extremely excited,” Clark said last week. “At the end of the day, it’s football for me, the game I’ve always played. I’ll be even-keeled. I’ll be excited for sure, hell yeah, but I can’t let it get the most of me and get out of whack and get out of position or anything. I’ll be locked in for sure.”
Clark came to the Jets in March 2023 in a trade from the Ravens.
The Jets were excited about what Clark could add to their defense, but he tore his ACL in the final OTA of the spring and missed the entire year.
For the first time in Clark’s life, he was a spectator.
Clark stayed in New Jersey and participated in meetings but was not part of the games.
“That was different,” Clark said. “It was the first time feeling that for me. It was a new building for me at the time. I tried to conquer that and then I had to attack the injury. It was different, to say the least.”
During the last week, Clark has been experiencing the lead-up to a game for the first time in over a year.
He said he knows he’ll have a moment pregame when he reflects on his journey back.
“I think just this whole week getting back into the operation of the game — OK, this is fast Friday, this is travel day, everything that I’ve missed,” Clark said. “It’s going to be a great feeling to get all that again. If they do a flyover before the game, this and that. I can’t wait for it all.”
Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett spoke last week about how involved Aaron Rodgers is in the game-planning process.
“It’s very elaborate, we always come together with a plan as coaches, and then present it to him like we do every week, or any quarterback, and then just kind of clarify everything with him,” Hackett said. “He watches a ton of tape, he has a ton of ideas just like us, so we just want to make sure he’s comfortable with all the things that we’re going to execute out there, so as we develop the plan we continue to get it to him, and have a lot of talks, make sure we have everything that we want, and go from there, so it’s pretty seamless. It’s just another pair of eyes because of his experience.”
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