Aaron Rodgers Makes Decision on Whether He'll Return to Jets This Season

Aaron Rodgers is cleared to play for the New York Jets after having Achilles surgery in September. However, it doesn't look like the Super Bowl champion quarterback will make his return this season. Rodgers recently appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and indicated he won't play again this season. However, if the Jets had a chance to make the playoffs, it would have been an "absolute no-brainer" when it comes to a return to action. 

"If I was 100 percent today, I'd be definitely pushing to play," he said, per ESPN. "But the fact is, I'm not." Rodgers, who had surgery on Sept. 13, also said that it was always "unrealistic to think that I would be 100 percent to be medically cleared at any point during the regular season."

Rodgers is on injured reserve but has been practicing with the Jets all this month. If the Jets don't activate him by Wednesday, Rodgers will remain on injured reserve for the final three games of the year. The Jets were eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday when they lost to the Miami Dolphins 30-0. Rodgers, who was traded to the Jets from the Green Bay Packers in April, was looking to make his return on Sunday when the team takes on the Washington commanders. 

"There's always a fear about rerupture if you're going too fast," he said Tuesday. "But this allows me to — I'm not going to slow my rehab down. I'm going to keep attacking it every single day, but now, without a timetable to come back, obviously, we can be as smart as we need to be."  

The good news for Jets fans is Rodgers will play for the team in 2024 and beyond. "I feel like this year is kind of a lost year now that I've only played a couple 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," he said. "I feel like I can play more years and I can 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."