Rodgers returned to practice this week after suffering injury on September 11
Aaron Rodgers has said all along that he fully intends to return from a torn Achilles this season, and that notion is on track to occur.
Rodgers, who will turn 40 on Saturday, ruptured his Achilles on just his fourth snap as a New York Jet, but just days later, he said that "anything is possible" regarding a return this year.
He also challenged just about everyone to "give me your doubts, give me your prognostications and then watch what I do." Well, so far so good. The Jets earlier this week opened his 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve.
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New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers stands on the sidelines before an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, October 1, 2023, in East Rutherford, NJ. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)
Of course, this is unprecedented. If Rodgers returns on his target date of December 24, it would be 104 days since his injury. He's also said that an earlier return isn't necessarily out of the question.
With that in mind, though, there's obviously the fear that Rodgers is not 100% healthy and that he could reinjure his Achilles.
But that, says Rodgers, isn't exactly the worst thing in the world.
Considering that he has come this far from an Achilles tear in roughly two-and-a-half months, Rodgers would have a much more lengthy timetable to return if he were to suffer a similar injury before this season ends.
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Aaron Rodgers, #8 of the New York Jets, on the field prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on October 15, 2023, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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"My thing is: What’s the worst that can happen?" he told reporters on Thursday. "Something unfortunate again, and then you just slow the rehab down. I think by my own timetable that if you take the rehab slower and a little more deliberate – five months, six months max – is probably the length to get back to 100 percent if you really take it slow. So, in my opinion, there's not like a downside to coming back and reinjuring it."
Rodgers says he plans to revamp his practice regimen next week, but still has some ways to go.
"Obviously, I can throw, I can drop back. I can do some things in a small circle, but I don't think I can protect myself as well as I'd like to at this point," he said. "So I gotta do a little more in practice, I have taken live team reps, I took some reps at the end of practice in a 7-on-7 setting [Wednesday], but I'm gonna, I need to take 11-on-11 reps and be able to move a little bit off the spot."
Aaron Rodgers, #8 of the New York Jets, throws the football prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on October 15, 2023, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
However, Rodgers has said that the Jets' playoff implications, which are rapidly dwindling, will play a role in whether he returns or not.
Gang Green are 4-7 after losing four straight. They have just three offensive touchdowns in their last five games.
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