Aaron Rodgers is injured after a sack by Buffalo Bills defensive end Leonard Floyd. Photograph: Robert Deutsch/USA Today SportsAaron RodgersAaron Rodgers leaves field injured on first drive of New York Jets career

It didn’t take long for Aaron Rodgers to make headlines for the New York Jets. The four-time NFL MVP left the field with what was reported as an ankle injury during the first series of his career with New York.

“He’s dealing with an ankle right now and we’re getting him checked out and we’ll know a little more later,” the Jets’ head coach, Robert Saleh, told ESPN immediately after the injury.

The 39-year-old left the Green Bay Packers this offseason to join the Jets, a longtime punchline in the NFL. It was hoped he would transform the fortunes of a team whose last playoff appearance came in the 2010 season.

But while the team have a talented defense and some young stars on offense, their offensive line has been under scrutiny and Rodgers was soon under pressure on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills.

After he was sacked by Leonard Floyd, Rodgers stayed on the turf and had to be escorted off the field by members of the Jets staff. After a brief assessment, he was carted into the tunnel for further treatment wearing a protective boot. ESPN reported x-rays on the injury did not show any broken bones but Rodgers was ruled out of the rest of the game. He was replaced by back-up Zach Wilson, who struggled last season and threw an interception not long after coming on to the field.

Rodgers is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, and was traded to the Jets this year after 18 seasons with Green Bay, with whom he won a Super Bowl and made the Pro Bowl on 10 occasions. New York acquired Rodgers, the No 15 overall pick and a fifth-rounder in this year’s draft from Green Bay on 26 April. In exchange, the Packers got the 13th overall selection, a second-rounder, a sixth-rounder and a conditional 2024 second-round pick that could become a first-rounder if Rodgers plays 65% of New York’s plays this season.

Rodgers, who has repeatedly said he won’t be one-and-done with the Jets, agreed in July to a restructured contract that gives him $75m in fully guaranteed money over this season and next. It amounts to a nearly $35m pay cut from the deal he had with Green Bay in which he was set to make $110m guaranteed.