The New York Jets saw Aaron Rodgers go down with an achilles injury four games into his tenure with the team. Rodgers, the legendary Green Bay Packers signal caller who joined New York this offseason, suffered the injury during the team’s Week 1 game against the Buffalo Bills, and while Zach Wilson was able to lead the team to a surprising win, the Rodgers situation put a damper on things.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and Adam Schefter of ESPN, Rodgers is not shutting the door on a return this year. After floating the possibility in a conversation with Pat McAfee, the reports indicated that Rodgers has an eye on potentially returning for the playoffs due to the procedure he underwent on his achilles earlier this week.
Via NFL Network:
Sources say renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache and his team performed a procedure to place an internal brace — called an Achilles “speed bridge” — on Rodgers’ fully torn left Achilles, which he ruptured just four snaps into Monday’s game against the Bills. While there are no guarantees, the speed bridge protects the repair and opens up the possibility of an earlier return, sources say.
It’s worth pointing out that there is no guarantee the Jets will even make the playoffs, particularly in a difficult AFC East. But even if they do, Schefter says that Rodgers would not immediately want to step in, because “if Wilson is shining, Rodgers will not want to interfere with his progress.” Wilson will get an opportunity to lead the Jets on the field on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.