FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — A little cayenne pepper might have put some pep back in Aaron Rodgers' step.
The New York Jets quarterback is preparing for a quick turnaround with the team's next game Thursday night at home against the Houston Texans. The 40-year-old Rodgers has been banged up during the Jets' miserable 2-6 start , dealing with a sprained ankle, a sore knee and hamstring tightness. But maybe thanks partly to a simple but spicy concoction suggested by 38-year-old punter Thomas Morstead, Rodgers feels ready to try to help the Jets snap their five-game skid.
“T-Mo gave me a little fountain of youth he said he's been taking for a while,” a smiling Rodgers said Tuesday. “All legal, of course. .
.. He's been taking like cayenne pepper and water, so he gave me some before the game.
“Felt pretty good, but I've been kind of gassing him up that that's why I'm feeling so good. I'm not sure how much that's playing a factor.” Cayenne pepper is thought to have several potential benefits, including helping with metabolic and gastrointestinal health.
Rodgers could certainly stand to add a little spice to what has been a mild start. He has 12 touchdown passes, but has been intercepted seven times in eight games — six off his career high during his first year as a starter with Green Bay in 2008. And likely hindered a bit by the leg issues — he tore the Achilles tendon in the same leg four snaps into last year's season opener — Rodgers hasn't been able to move around.