New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers gave an update on his injury status Tuesday during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. The conversation came as the Jets have a deadline this week to decide if they will activate Rodgers from injured reserve or shut him down for the season.
Rodgers and the Jets have said the decision would partly depend on where the Jets were in the playoff hunt. They were eliminated on Sunday following their loss to the Miami Dolphins.
According to Albert Breer with NBC Sports, Rodgers told McAfee he’s not asking to return this week. Instead of mentioning the Jets playoff status as a reason not to start against the Washington Commanders this week, Rodgers said it isn’t realistic that he’d be medically cleared 14 weeks after his surgery to fix the torn Achilles:
“If I was 100% today, I’d definitely be pushing to play. But the fact is, I’m not. I’ve been working hard to get closer … I’m still 14 weeks tmrw from my surgery. And being medically cleared as 100% healed is not realistic at 14 weeks.”
Jets QB Aaron Rodgers to @PatMcAfeeShow: "If I was 100% today, I'd definitely be pushing to play. But the fact is, I'm not. I've been working hard to get closer … I'm still 14 weeks tmrw from my surgery. And being medically cleared as 100% healed is not realistic at 14 weeks."
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 19, 2023
The Jets seemed hopeful about Rodgers’ speedy recovery last week. Rodgers even participated in Jets practice as a scout team linebacker.
As Ari Meirov and other analysts wrote, Rodgers’ comments pretty much confirmed that Rodgers will not return this season.
#Jets QB Aaron Rodgers says on @PatMcAfeeShow that he's not 100% fully medically cleared as of now, and it's probably more realistic in another 3-4 weeks.
This basically confirms his season is over. pic.twitter.com/ScQi7tRdQI
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 19, 2023
The Jets can’t afford to bring Rodgers back to sit on the bench this week. Backup quarterback Zach Wilson is in the concussion protocol this week after suffering a head injury against the Dolphins. The Jets need quarterbacks on their 53-man roster to be able to play in Week 16.
Green Bay Packers fans should feel better about their draft position
Green Bay Packers fans should feel a little better about their draft prospects with Rodgers’ commentary on Tuesday. After losing their best player for the season, the team is set up to have a better draft pick in the second round in April.
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