Aaron Rodgers teases cayenne pepper water as 'fountain of youth' while trying to save Jets' season

The New York Jets are hurting in all kinds of ways. Touting Super Bowl aspirations before the 2024 NFL season, the AFC East hopefuls are just 2-6 through eight games, and their star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, has played through multiple injuries. Ahead of the team's crucial Thursday night matchup with the Houston Texans, Rodgers may have found a secret weapon to aid he and the Jets: hot peppers.

"I feel really good," Rodgers told reporters Tuesday. "I feel much better. ... I was hurting. But I feel better."

How, exactly, has the 40-year-old quarterback turned the corner so abruptly?

"T-Mo gave me a little fountain of youth," he said, alluding to Jets punter Thomas Morstead. "He said he's been taking it for a while. All legal, of course. I've been kinda gassing him up, [telling him] that's why I'm feeling a little bit better. He's been taking, like, cayenne pepper and water. So he gave me some before the [last] game. I felt pretty good. I've been gassing him up, [telling him] that's why I'm feeling so good."

Rodgers added that he's "taking care of myself nonstop," working to stay healthy a year after missing all but four snaps due to a torn Achilles. He acknowledged that his mobility may have been limited in the Jets' Week 8 loss to the New England Patriots, but didn't have any concerns about his condition for Thursday's game.

The former Green Bay Packers star has struggled to find a groove during the Jets' lowly season, completing just 61.6% of his throws, with 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions.