Aaron Rodgers will not play in the New York Jets' preseason finale against the New York Giants and the 40-year-old is set to face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 for his season debut.
Rodgers and the Jets' decision to sit the former Super Bowl champion puts to bed the theory he could have played at some point during the 2023 NFL season. Granted most teams rarely play their starters in preseason games but the fact that Rodgers has only been practicing shows his original plan last season was moot.
After playing just four snaps in the Jets' season opener against the Buffalo Bills, Rodgers tore his Achilles, effectively ending his season before it truly began. However, Rodgers kept commenting that he was on the path to recovery, at one point targeting a return if the Jets were in playoff contention at the end of the season .
Rodgers tore his Achilles in September and had the Jets been in playoff contention at the end of the season, he would have returned at some point in late December to early January. That, in and of itself, would have been a marvel of modern medicine, as no professional athlete has been known to recover from an Achilles tear in fewer than five months.
Former Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers proved how quickly players could return from the injury, suffering an Achilles tear in late July 2021 and returning on Jan. 9, 2022. For context, athletes take approximately nine months to a year to return from an Achilles tear, with the median time to return to some sort of activity starting at five months .
Rodgers did defy the odds by returning to practice 77 days after getting surgery to repair his torn Achilles and from that point on, the 40-year-old continued to peddle the theory that he could return to action at some point last season.
The signal caller even went on "The Pat McAfee Show" in November 2023 to discuss how he could return to the field, even if it made no sense for him to do so considering his advanced age and the type of injury he is attempting to come back from. "Well I think it's always been if I am healthy and then if are we alive, are we playing good enough to make a run? Can I step in and protect myself and help this team?" he said at the time .
"But the first part is the health. I need to be able to protect myself and move around. So there's a natural progression to the rehab that will involve actually getting back on to the field to start to do somethings that are more football-related. We are not yet where I can make a decision (yet). Health-wise I am steadily improving but I am not at the ability to play.
"Once I am healthy, then it's a question of if we (the Jets) are alive and if I can help the team by being out there. If the answer is yet then we move in that direction. I still have to get cleared by everybody and then If I am, can we make the playoffs?"
Ultimately, Rodgers did not play another snap for the Jets that season, which was the best decision for the quarterback and organization . Aside from getting a favorable draft pick, sitting Rodgers for the rest of the season allowed him to recover, despite his weekly insistence that he was going to defy modern medicine.
It looks like the Jets are still very cautious with their prized quarterback, with Rodgers being unable to be hit . It's a worrying sign for fans and the organization , as getting hit is a part of the game and it is nigh-impossible to last an entire season without being hit at least once.
“I haven’t taken a hit. That’s kind of the main thing, thankfully. I respect and appreciate my defense for that," Rodgers told reporters . "...We’ll see if we can get through tomorrow without getting drilled.”
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