Aaron Rodgers injured in first drive for beleaguered New York Jets

The much-heralded New York Jets debut of future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers ended with an injury, after only a handful of plays Monday night in New Jersey.

Buffalo Bills linebacker Leonard Floyd sacked Rodgers on New York’s first series, and the ex-Green Bay Packers signal caller struggled to get off the turf at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

He was replaced by former Jets starter Zach Wilson and carted off the field with an apparent ankle injury.

“Monday Night Football” cameras showed Rodgers limping into the Jets’ locker room with a boot on his left foot and lower leg.

X-rays showed there was no break, but the Jets announced he would not play the rest of the game.

“We still have a hell of a group of guys,” Jets coach Robert Saleh told ESPN. “Obviously, Aaron is a big part of that. But we still have an unbelievable defense. We got a lot of great guys on offense. We’ll get this thing done.”

Rodgers took four snaps Monday night: handing it off to running back Breece Hall for a 26-yard gain, throwing an incomplete pass and drawing a 5-yard Bills penalty before the sack.

Rodgers, 39, had spent his entire career with the Packers, winning four NFL MVP awards. He was the MVP of the Super Bowl on Feb. 6, 2011, when Green Bay defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-25.

In addition to his play, Rodgers has been reliably durable, having started at least 15 games in 13 of the last 15 seasons.

His arrival with the Jets was celebrated by long-suffering Gang Green fans who hoped he’d be able to turn around the franchise, which has endured seven consecutive losing seasons.

The Jets have been desperately searching for a transformative quarterback to make them Super Bowl contenders again. They have won one Super Bowl, the famed 1969 title game.

That triumph happened so long ago that it came against a team, the Baltimore Colts, that hasn’t called Maryland home since the 1980s and in a stadium, Miami’s Orange Bowl, that no longer stands.

After they drafted Mark Sanchez with the fifth overall pick of 2009, the Jets went on to take Sam Darnold with the overall No. 3 selection in 2018 and then Wilson at No. 2 in 2021.

Wilson was benched at the end of last season before the Jets pinned their hopes on the veteran Rodgers.

The drama surrounding Rodgers’ arrival with the Jets drew the interest of HBO’s popular reality show “Hard Knocks.”

“Hate that, man,” Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes tweeted after Rodgers went down Monday night. “Praying for the best.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.