Tom Brady devastated when he finds out about Aaron Rodgers' broken collarbone

The Patriots quarterback was sad to hear about the Packers quarterback going down

There is a high level of appreciation between Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady for what they do as quarterbacks. They are two of the best in the game, if not the two best in the game, even though Rodgers and Brady do things on the field differently. Brady is willing to admit that there are many things Rodgers, a more mobile quarterback, can do that Brady himself cannot. 

So it should be no surprise that Brady was absolutely devastated to learn, following the Patriots' close win over the Jets on Sunday, that Rodgers could miss the rest of the season with what the Packers confirmed was a broken collarbone. 

Brady was informed of the news during his postgame press conference and went from joyous over the win to quickly sullen. 

"I didn't know that," Brady said. "That sucks ... Sucks."

That is the proper reaction (and you can watch the full thing at the Boston Sports Journal). Rodgers could very well miss the rest of the season, the Packers announced, as he suffered a similar injury to what he's dealt with before in terms of taking a big hit to his collarbone and breaking the clavicle. 

And it sucks because the NFL is already battling a bunch of injuries to big-name stars. Odell Beckham and J.J. Watt went down for the season last week. David Johnson is out for an extended period of time, and Andrew Luck has yet to play at all.

The NFL has a wonderful product that produces wonderful games and entertaining sporting events. But stars help to drive the league. And Rodgers is about as big a star as they come -- he was playing MVP football just a few weeks in, and looked absolutely locked in as a passer. The Packers' chances of winning the division or even reaching the playoffs obviously take a hit without Rodgers under center.

And now they're going to find out how good Brett Hundley is and whether he can help push them to a potential playoff berth. It's too early to count out the Packers, because we've seen this exact scenario play out with Green Bay making the playoffs. 

But there's no question that Brady is right: this stinks, and not just for the Packers. Watching Aaron Rodgers play quarterback is a joy to see, and we're going to miss more than half a season of it now, a sad reality when he's in his mid-30s.