Aaron Rodgers will not defy the odds and return to quarterback the Jets this season.
Although they placed the four-time MVP on the 53-man roster on Wednesday — the deadline to do so after Gang Green opened his 21-day return-to-play clock after he resumed practicing last month — Jets coach Robert Saleh announced on Wednesday that Rodgers will not play again this season.
“We got the roster flexibility with all the different things that have happened over the last couple of weeks,” Saleh said of Rodgers who had held out hope of making a remarkable return to play in the same season in which he suffered a torn Achilles. “It is all part of his rehab and just having him out on the football field, it’s a plus for him and it’s a plus for his teammates. So we are going to keep him on the 53.
“It is all part of his rehab,” Saleh added. “So there will be days when he’s out there and they’re going to be days when he is not.”
If the Jets had placed Rodgers on season-ending injured reserve, he wouldn’t have been allowed to practice with the team for the final three weeks of the season.
Two days after suffering an Achilles tear on Sept. 11 against the Bills in the season opener, Rodgers underwent what is called a “SpeedBridge” surgical procedure, which placed an internal brace on his Achilles. The hope was that Rodgers could return potentially for the Dec. 24 game against the Commanders after he was cleared for some but not all football activities. But after the Jets were eliminated from playoff contention following Sunday’s embarrassing 30-0 loss against the Dolphins, that put Rodgers’ return to bed.
Gang Green opened Rodgers’ practice window on Nov. 29 and had 21 days to either place him on the active roster or he would miss the rest of the season.
“Just observing him, he tried everything he could to try and get back,” Saleh said about Rodgers. “Who knows if the circumstances were different, we might have had a different conversation.
“I know he gave it everything he could.”
Rodgers told reporters earlier this month that it wouldn’t “make a ton of sense” to return at less than 100% if the Jets didn’t have a shot at making the playoffs. If the Jets defeated the Dolphins, Rodgers planned to ramp up his practice regimen by participating in 11-on-11 drills.
Even if that did happen, Rodgers not only needed to be medically cleared but also get the thumbs up from Jets brass.
On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, Rodgers expressed his intentions to play not just in 2024 but beyond that. He told reporters in training camp that he wanted to play at least two seasons for the Jets after the team traded with the Packers last April for the superstar signal-caller. But his first season lasted just four plays and the Jets offense has struggled mightily without him.
Currently, the Jets are dead last in yards (255.1) and 30th in points per game (14.4).
“I feel like this year is kind of a lost year now that I’ve only played a couple of snaps and wasn’t able to go out there and prove what I’m capable of and see what we’re capable of as a team,” Rodgers said.
“I feel like I can play for more years and be effective into my 40s, which is crazy. I thought that I’d probably be sitting on the couch somewhere at 40, but now I want to be a starter at 40. I want to be a starter at 41, I want to see what I can get out of this body.”
