Despite defying medical norms and risking the obvious possibility of reinjury, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues to claim his intentions to return by mid-December. According to Rich Cimini of ESPN, the veteran passer hopes “to be trending towards practicing by” his 40th birthday on December 2. 
Rodgers made ambitious claims of a mid-December return about two weeks ago before backtracking those comments quite a bit. Not only did Rodgers hesitate to commit to his accelerated timeline for a return, but he also decided to hedge his return bid on whether or not the team was still in playoff contention by the time he was healthy, saying that if the Jets were “not in it in three or four weeks, that could take (his timeline) a different way.”
After a three-game losing streak that has left New York at 4-6, currently good for the 14-seed in the AFC (seven spots outside of a wild-card spot), a playoff bid seems like a long shot. Still, Rodgers pointed out examples of other 4-6 teams in NFL history, namely the 2016 Packers and 2009 Jets, who started out 4-6 before rallying their way to Conference Championship Games, as reasons not to count out the struggling Jets of 2023.
Once again, Rodgers’ stance seems to have changed as Jay Glazer of FOX Sports informed us this morning that Rodgers no longer is concerned about the Jets ability to contend for a playoff spot. Glazer claims that, even if the Jets are out of the playoff race, Rodgers “still wants to show he was able to come back faster from that Achilles tear – faster than pretty much any quarterback ever.” Rodgers is so dead set on this goal that he isn’t even aiming to return to full form. He doesn’t feel the need to be able to escape the pocket and scramble, he just wants to be able to say he was able to come back into a game this season and play some form of the quarterback position.
Rodgers reportedly hopes to rejoin the team this week, though that likely doesn’t mean a return to practice. If the team abides by Rodgers’ wishes to return around his birthday, December 6 becomes the likely date of designation for return, at which point, his 21-day practice window would open. This would allow Rodgers to be activated in time for the Jets’ Christmas Eve matchup with the Commanders, a date that has been mentioned as an unofficial target for return.
That’s a big “if,” though, as head coach Robert Saleh has set the record straight. Saleh claims that Rodgers’ updates and targets are all “a moot point” until the doctors clear him. While he had said days ago that he will not block Rodgers’ route to a return, Saleh clearly has some stipulations that need to be met in order for the quarterback to return to the field. Regardless of how ready Rodgers feels or how far ahead of schedule he claims to be, Saleh is most concerned about the opinions of the team’s doctors, who will need to clear Rodgers in order to open a path for return.
So, according to Rodgers’ own reports, he’s on track to return by mid-December, far ahead of schedule for any previous such cases of recovery. Even if he’s not quite healthy enough to play like the four-time MVP he is, he’ll consider it a win just to return to the field at all. Saleh, though, warns not to weigh Rodgers’ comments too heavily, as the approval from team doctors still reigns as the weightiest opinion in the matter.
Make Rodgers the player/coach
Aaron is the QB/GM. He got every player he wanted in the offseason, right?
What if he didn’t really tear his Achilles? It could be a medical marvel thing, sure, but what if the injury wasn’t that bad? I don’t know, with all the other torn Achilles this year, no one else seems to be talking about how early they can be back. It just seems suspicious, that’s all I’m sayin.
It’s more likely that it’s all talk, or Rodgers overestimating himself and the Jets being incompetent, than that it’s a big lie/conspiracy to make him look good, IMO. I could see Rodgers and the Jets pushing it and having a reinjury out of the urgency of how few chances he has left at a SB run, if the playoffs were right there.
It’d be insanity for him to come back behind a bad O Line once they are eliminated or needing a miracle, though. Might be worth questioning if that happens. Way too much risk for no possible gain.
Jets will lose a few more games. Rodgers won’t return and he’ll say it’s because they’re out of contention but he’ll really push the narrative that he was ready to come back. He desperately wants to be seen as the smartest guy in the room so he’ll claim his methods of rehab were better than everyone else’s and that he could have returned if it wasn’t for the Jets bad record.
I believe he could actually make it back, maybe not quite as soon as he hopes, but I think it’s possible. Would be it a real risk? Probably, especially with a bad O Line. Would he have full mobility to evade and scramble, and be able to play at his best? Almost certainly not.
All there needs to be is a belief that he can avoid another tear, because even if he’s a statue and can’t make all of his usual throws, he’s still better than Wilson.
They can lean on their defense, but Wilson makes the defense have to be perfect every play. Rodgers as a physically limited high football IQ game manager would still help.
Hopefully he doesn’t force it if he’s not ready. Don’t want to put yourself at risk of making it worse.
God forbid the man wants to play football. The hand wringing over his planned comeback is really too much.
Rodgers is the one putting himself in the spotlight. No one is wringing their hands over whether or not he should come back. He’s the one pushing this narrative because he can’t stand it when no one is paying attention to him.
Honestly I could careless I’m not going to feel bad for him if he plays and hurts himself again. He has made millions and he wants to risk issues when he is older that’s his choice. What’s upstairs is a bigger issue. it’s never his fault it’s always someone else’s fault. He does no wrong.
I genuinely respect his determination to come back from this but if he’s willing to risk serious reinjury just to prove a point then that’s probably a separate issue
I agree. I don’t think that it’s worth it at all. I do respect Rodgers’ determination and what it could inspire in his teammates, but it just doesn’t seem smart or worth it. It seems that he may also be wanting to inspire a positive mindset in his teammates for next year. Of course, it could be possible that this is just some type of accomplishment for this year, seeing as a Super Bowl would be…let’s just say, “unlikely”.
On the other hand, about 90% of the comments about Rodgers apparently have a lot more knowledge about what goes on in his head than I would think possible, so what do I know?
If he comes back and tears his other Achilles is there going to be nonstop ramble about him coming back still? He is done and the team isn’t good on offense, he wouldn’t magically make them the best.
I think he should play. Figure out what needs to be done in offseason with a real qb. Their QBs make it really hard to judge needs