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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers needs only one touchdown pass to reach 500 for his career, and his longtime friend and teammate, Davante Adams, wants to be the one to catch it.
“Obviously, I’d love to,” Adams said Friday after practice. “I got 200, I got 400, so it would be dope to get 500 as well.”
Rodgers is on the verge of joining Tom Brady (649), Drew Brees (571), Peyton Manning (539) and Brett Favre (508) as the only players in NFL history with 500 touchdown passes. He will try to join the club on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium, where the weather is expected to be rainy and windy with temperatures in the 50s.
“We’ve had some special connections in the past, so it’d be great,” said Adams, who expects to play despite a hip injury from last week. “And, obviously, it would be a big, big thing for him. Not that he needs more accolades and more milestones, but you might as well keep racking them up while you can.”
Rodgers, 41, has said he’s undecided on whether he will play in 2025, so this could be the final road game of his career. The Jets (4-11) finish the season at home against the Miami Dolphins.
He and Adams were reunited in October, when the Jets acquired the wide receiver in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders. After a slow start, Adams has elevated his game in recent weeks, becoming Rodgers’ No. 1 target. In nine games with the Jets, Adams has 56 receptions, 719 yards and 6 touchdowns, bringing his yardage total to 928 for the season.
“It would be a crying shame not to be able to get (1,000 yards),” said Adams, who has done it five times in his career, including the past four seasons.
Adams never will forget his first NFL touchdown reception. It came in 2014, his rookie year with the Green Bay Packers, and it happened to be touchdown pass No. 200 for Rodgers. It took six years before they hooked up for No. 400.
With no drama left in the Jets’ season — they were eliminated three weeks ago — Rodgers’ pursuit of individual milestones has become one of the top storylines. With 3,511 passing yards, he needs 497 yards to pass Joe Namath’s single-season record (4,007), which has stood since 1967. Namath was the first player in history to reach 4,000, and he did it in a 14-game season.
“It’s been one of my great honors in my life — not just football and this profession — to be around him, to learn from him, to grow from him,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said of Rodgers. “It’s going to be so special to see that 500th ball caught. I’m so excited for him and what it means to his legacy and all that Aaron Rodgers is.”
On Friday, the Jets announced that kicker Greg Zuerlein will be activated from injured reserve and will replace the struggling Anders Carlson on Sunday. The Jets have used four different kickers. They began with Zuerlein, but he slumped and was placed on IR with a knee injury on Oct. 30.
Source: www.espn.com