The New York Jets’ star quarterback Aaron Rodgers is abandoning his attempt to miraculously return from an Achilles injury. In his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers confirmed that he won’t play in the 2023 season.
“If I was 100 percent today, I’d be definitely pushing to play,” said Rodgers. “But the fact is, I’m not.”
Rodgers suffered an Achilles tear in Week 1 and was initially expected to be out for the remainder of the season. However, the 40-year-old publicly expressed his intentions to beat the expectations and return to the field for the Week 16 game against the Washington Commanders. This would be earlier than any other NFL player managed to make a comeback with the same type of injury.
But with the Jets already being out of playoff run, there is no real incentive for Rodgers to play in the Commanders game or any other in 2023.
“There’s always a fear about rerupture if you’re going too fast,” Rodgers added. “But this allows me to — I’m not going to slow my rehab down. I’m going to keep attacking it every single day, but now, without a timetable to come back, obviously, we can be as smart as we need to be.”
Rodgers also shared that he doesn’t believe the 2024 campaign will be his last one in the NFL and said that he intends to play at least a couple more years.
The Jets, currently at 5-9, will likely field journeyman Trevor Siemian under center for the Commanders game. Zach Wilson, who started at the QB position for the better part of the 2023 season, is currently out due to a concussion.
