When the Green Bay Packers traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, there was a great source of excitement among Packers fans that the team would have two first round picks in 2024. Of course, that was contingent on Rodgers playing 65% of the offense’s snaps in New York, which seemed like a low mark.
However, it was not to be. Rodgers tore his Achilles just four snaps into his tenure with the Jets, effectively ending his season and guaranteeing the Packers the rights to New York’s 2024 second round pick instead of their first.
But while everyone was writing off Rodgers and the Jets in 2023, New York has continued to remain competitive and Rodgers has refused to give up on playing again this season. At 39 (almost 40) years old, Rodgers returning in 2023 would be miraculous.
And based on his most recent Instagram post, it may happen before the season ends.
Did Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Reveal His Return Date?
Typically, it takes a person anywhere between six and twelve months to recover from a torn Achilles. As Rodgers tore his back in September, that would have put him on track to return in time for OTA’s and other early offseason workouts. That is, in a best case scenario. That timeline also indicates that he might not make his return until training camp or after the 2024 season starts.
But Rodgers, bolding declaring “Watch what I will do,” has gone from walking with crutches, to without them, to throwing without any kind of assistance in a very short period of time.
People started to wonder if he really could return to the field in 2023, and his latest Instagram post has people wondering if he even has a date in mind:
View this post on Instagram
Now, Rodgers may just be advertising for a brand that he is paid to endorse. However, former Packers quarterback Kurt Benkert, knowing Rodgers never posts anything without any meaning behind it, highlighted a very interesting number combination on the watch:
Is @AaronRodgers12 aiming to return on 12/28 against the Browns?
Thursday Night Football… 🤔 pic.twitter.com/qQHbtlr5OK
— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) November 3, 2023
The December 28 date lands three-and-a-half months after Rodgers first suffered the injury. A return in that short of timeframe would be unprecidented.
It is worth noting, too, that Rodgers himself designed the watch in partnership with Zenith. As a tribute to the two numbers that he was worn in his NFL career, 12 and 8, the cost of the watch is a cool $12,800.
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