According to Ian Rapoport, Jets QB Aaron Rodgers is unlikely to be cleared to return to play this season if New York is eliminated from the playoffs.
Rodgers has been targeting Week 16 against the Commanders as a potential return from the torn Achilles he suffered in Week 1. The Jets designated him to return from injured reserve and he was on the practice field last week.
However, at 4-7 the Jets’ playoff hopes are slim and there’s little point in putting Rodgers at any risk if there’s no upside.
“If we are out of it, I would be surprised if they OK’d that to come back,” he said this week.
Rapoport notes the Jets could still activate Rodgers to the roster at the end of his three-week window to return, but he would be inactive and not play regardless.
Rodgers, 39, is a former first-round pick of the Packers back in 2005. He agreed to a four-year, $134 million extension that includes over $100 million guaranteed in 2018.
Rodgers was owed a base salary of $25 million in the final year of his deal in 2022 when he agreed to a three-year, $150 million extension this offseason with $101 million of the deal guaranteed.
After one year, the Packers traded him to the Jets for a package that included a second-round pick in 2023 and a conditional 2024 second that could become a first.
In 2022, Rodgers appeared in all 17 games for the Packers and completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to go along with 94 yards rushing and a touchdown.
We’ll have more on Rodgers as the news is available.
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