Aaron Rodgers reportedly changes stance on returning amid Jets' losing streak

Despite defying medical norms and risking the obvious possibility of re-injury, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues to claim his intentions to return by mid-December. According to Rich Cimini of ESPN, the veteran passer hopes “to be trending towards practicing by” his 40th birthday on Dec. 2.

Rodgers made ambitious claims of a mid-December return about two weeks ago before backtracking those comments quite a bit. Not only did Rodgers hesitate to commit to his accelerated timeline for a return, but he also decided to hedge his return bid on whether or not the team was still in playoff contention by the time he was healthy, saying that if the Jets were “not in it in three or four weeks, that could take (his timeline) a different way.”

After a three-game losing streak that has left New York at 4-6, currently good for the 14-seed in the AFC (seven spots outside of a wild-card spot), a playoff bid seems like a long shot. Still, Rodgers pointed out examples of other 4-6 teams in NFL history, namely the 2016 Packers and 2009 Jets, who started out 4-6 before rallying their way to conference championship games, as reasons not to count the struggling Jets out of 2023.

Once again, Rodgers’ stance seems to have changed. Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported on Thursday that Rodgers no longer is concerned about the Jets' ability to contend for a playoff spot. Glazer claims that, even if the Jets are out of the playoff race, Rodgers “still wants to show he was able to come back faster from that Achilles tear — faster than pretty much any quarterback ever.” Rodgers is so dead set on this goal that he isn’t even aiming to return to full form. He doesn’t feel the need to be able to escape the pocket and scramble, he just wants to be able to say he was able to come back into a game this season and play some form of the quarterback position.

Rodgers reportedly hopes to rejoin the team this week, but that likely doesn’t mean a return to practice. If the team abides by Rodgers’ wishes to return around his birthday, Dec. 6 becomes the likely date of designation for return, at which point, his 21-day practice window would open. This would allow Rodgers to be activated in time for the Jets’ Christmas Eve matchup with the Commanders, a date that has been mentioned as an unofficial target for return.

That’s a big “if,” though, as head coach Robert Saleh has set the record straight. Saleh claims that Rodgers’ updates and targets are all “a moot point” until the doctors clear him. While he had said days ago that he will not block Rodgers’ route to a return, Saleh clearly has some stipulations that need to be met in order for the quarterback to return to the field. Regardless of how ready Rodgers feels or how far ahead of schedule he claims to be, Saleh is most concerned about the opinions of the team’s doctors, who will need to clear Rodgers in order to open a path for return.

So, according to Rodgers’ own reports, he’s on track to return by mid-December, far ahead of schedule for any previous such cases of recovery. Even if he’s not quite healthy enough to play like the four-time MVP he is, he’ll consider it a win just to return to the field at all. Saleh, though, warns not to weigh Rodgers’ comments too heavily, as the approval from team doctors still reigns as the weightiest opinion in the matter.