Aaron Rodgers New York Jets star quarterback has taken another step forward in his recovery from his torn Achilles.He returned to practice Wednesday on a limited basis — exactly 11 weeks after surgery to repair a torn Achilles.
 Rodgers, who will turn 40 on Saturday, underwent Achilles surgery on Sept. 13 after suffering the injury just four plays into the first game of the 2023 season. His return to the practice field in less than three months is a substantial achievement even if he isn’t able to play in another game this year.
By rule, the Jets have 21 days to decide whether to activate Rodgers from injured reserve. The period expires Dec. 20, four days before they face the Washington Commanders — the game he’s targeting for a return.
Rodgers, who turns 40 on Saturday, is recovering at an extraordinary pace, but this doesn’t mean he’s a lock to play. Saleh said the team is “so far away” from having to make that decision.
No NFL player has returned from Achilles surgery before the five-month mark. Rodgers will be 3½ months removed from surgery Dec. 24, when the Jets play the Commanders.
At 4-7 and riding a four-game losing streak, the Jets have a lot of work to do if they hope to stay alive in the hunt for the playoffs. Rodgers said during Tuesday’s appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that in addition to his recovery, the team’s performance will also factor into whether he makes a comeback in 2023.
Aaron Rodgers – To play or not to play
“I think it’s always been first, am I healthy?” Rodgers said. “Then, are we in it? Are we playing good enough to make a run? Can I step in and protect myself and play the level that I feel like I’m capable of playing? Can I protect myself? Can I move around the way I want to move around?”
Rodgers is in the first year of a three year,112.5M $ contract, so the Jets did not just pick him up for a retirement tour. The loss of Rodgers was so catastrophic to the Jets’ 2023 plans that Saleh and Nathaniel Hackett, the decidedly unpopular offensive coordinator, are expected to return in 2024 for what would pretty much be regarded as a mulligan.
Even though six games remain, it is much more likely that Rodgers won’t return to action this season. “Even [the Jets] aren’t stupid enough to let that happen,” an NFL general manager, wanting to remain anonymous, told the Washington Post this week. But Rodgers has not ruled himself out for 2023, teasing along the storyline.
So teammates like CJ Mosley, the veteran Jets’ linebacker, find themselves answering questions about Rodgers returning this year. On Monday, Mosley said of Rodgers’s recovery, “Nobody has ever seen anything like this. You can just look at the process and where he’s at now with the injury and just be happy for him, be glad that he’s able to walk, be glad that he’s even in this position to try to play football again, especially this early.
Of course, returning to practice is far from returning to game action. It is possible that Rodgers pulls on the helmet and pads and resumes working out with his teammates, only to decide (or have it decided for him) that his return to a real game would best be done in 2024.
And just imagine if Rodgers, who turns 40 this Saturday, came back sometime later in the month – only to crumple to the turf again holding his left ankle, or, maybe even worse, sustaining an injury to another part of his body. The Jets, who have the longest current NFL playoff drought at 12 seasons, would never hear the end of it.
All of those questions will be answered over the next 21 days, so it will be interesting to see if the four-time NFL MVP proves his doubters wrong and makes it back to a game this season. The Jets can help make his return more of a possibility by stopping their losing streak when they return to action on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons (5-6).