FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - Quinnen Williams couldn't believe his ears.
A reporter was asking the star defensive lineman a question after practice Wednesday when he pointed out that 40-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers is entering his 20th season in the NFL.
"Twenty years?" Williams asked incredulously before whistling. "I didn't know that. Aaron's 20 years in the NFL? Mannn."
It then occurred to Williams that rookie running back Braelon Allen, the team's fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin and the youngest player selected in the draft, is only 20.
"So he's been in the NFL as long as he's been alive!" the 26-year-old Williams said with a smile. "That's crazy, huh? I've got to joke with (Rodgers) about that."
Rodgers is practicing fully during organized team activities this spring after tearing his left Achilles tendon on the fourth snap of his debut with the Jets last year in the season opener. The four-time NFL MVP said last week he's feeling good physically and is motivated to come back from his injury and play well because, "I love the game, want to play at a high level. I don't want to go out, and I've said it before, as a bum."
From what Williams has seen, he looks anything but a bum. Or a 40-year-old guy entering his 20th season of playing professional football.
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"He don't act like that at all," said Williams, who came to the press room shortly after lifting weights with Rodgers. "You hear stuff like that and then you see the way he works and the way he goes about his work and the way he does the things he do, it's like, man, I want to be that. I want to emulate that, man. I want to be able to interpret, like, OK, how's Aaron's doing it and what he's doing and put it on the defensive side. ...
"To see how hard he works, to see how much he loves football, to see how smart he is, and how much he pours into our team and pours into football is unbelievable."
Williams, entering his sixth NFL season, was then asked if he could imagine playing 20 years like Rodgers.
"I don't know," he said laughing. "Twenty years is a long time. I'm 26, so I was 6 years old when he first started playing football in the NFL. That's unbelievable."
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
DENNIS WASZAK Jr.
Dennis is a pro football writer who covers the Jets and NFL
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