Aaron Rodgers sets official date for Jets comeback

The New York Jets weren’t able to live up to their offseason expectations. Of course, it’s hard to blame them, considering they lost their most important player just four plays into the season. Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles tear was a deadly blow to their Super Bowl aspirations.

Zach Wilson didn’t show any signs of improvement from last season, and the Jets refused to pursue a veteran backup when they could. Then, when they finally decided to bench him in favor of Tim Boyle, it was too late.

The Jets still had a beacon of hope and a chance to go the distance this season. Rodgers defied Father Time, modern medicine, and all odds to make an in-season comeback after suffering such a major injury. All they had to do was keep the ship afloat in the meantime.

There was a stretch in the season in which it seemed like they were going to pull it off. Then, several reality checks led this team to a 4-7 record and a 1% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN. Even so, Peter King reports that Rodgers hasn’t changed his mind about coming back this season.

Rodgers Doesn’t Care About The Jets’ Record

Needless to say, the only way Rodgers comes back is if he knows for sure that he’s not at risk of re-aggravating the injury. Should that be the case, King fully expects Rodgers to be on the field this season regardless of the Jets’ record.

“If he can be sure he is reasonably recovered, without a significant risk of re-tearing the Achilles, I think he’d strongly consider playing, whatever the Jets’ record is,” King reported.

Apparently, Rodgers feels indebted to the team after everything they did to get him and how they reshaped their roster around him. He still wants to give them a glimpse of what they got themselves into:

“I think he may feel a personal need to come back to a team that remade itself for him and is struggling incredibly with terrible quarterback play since he was lost in the first game of the season,” continued King.

He Could Be Back Soon

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Rodgers could be back on the field as early as this week. While that doesn’t mean a return to play is imminent, he’s going to take the practice field at the very least and take it from there.

“There is a chance that Aaron Rodgers, still trying to recover from that torn Achilles, practices this week. That has been his hope. Jets coaches were unclear if it was actually going to happen. I would say more likely next week. But his return to practice, at least, is coming,” said Rapoport.

Rapoport also reported that Rodgers is targeting his team’s December 24 matchup with the Washington Commanders as a potential return date. At this point, it’s more about making history and giving back to his team than actually leading them to the Super Bowl.

Still, getting some reps in real-game situations with this offensive line, this coaching staff, and this set of players could give Rodgers a nice jump start ahead of the upcoming campaign, so it might be worth the risk.