Aaron Rodgers Says He Plans to Return to New York Jets This Season

Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles last month and is expected to miss the rest of the 2023 NFL season. However, when the New York Jets quarterback appeared on The Pat McAfee Show this week, he said that he would be back with the team before the season ends. When speaking about his rehab, Rodgers said that he's "well ahead of the normal protocols." 

"There's nothing normal about how I'm attacking this rehab," Rodgers added, per ESPN. "The common practice is about six weeks in a boot, and I was in a shoe in 13 days. This is just my mindset. I believe in the power of intention. I believe in prayer. I believe in your mental status and the power of will. I believe in making room for the miraculous to happen."

When Rodgers was asked about playing this season, he said the plan is to "attack this rehab as hard as we can and then see where we're at in a couple months. And, obviously, I'd like us to be alive and winning for that even being in the conversation. But I don't think it hurts at all to put that into the manifestation zeitgeist." The recovery time for an Achilles tear is six to nine months, but some people could recover in four to five months. If Rodgers got cleared to play in four months, he would return in mid-January. However, the Jets' season comes to an end on Jan. 7 if they don't make the playoffs. 

Additionally, Rodgers knows he has some challenges to overcome, including a deltoid issue. "I have some things working against me," he said. "I'm 39 years old, I'm the oldest player in the league. A lot of people have a really hard time coming back from this. However, I haven't really paid any attention to any that stuff. I just kind of have been making my own protocols and my own timetables."

Rodgers attended the Jets game on Sunday. The team took on the Kansas City Chiefs, and Rodgers was on the field talking to a few Chiefs players, including Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. The Jets lost to the Chiefs and are now 1-3 on the year.