New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers concedes he won’t play again this season. What did he say?
Even though he’s been training with the team for the last three weeks, The Jets star quarterback has conceded that he won’t play again this season.
For the last few weeks football fans have been captivated by the possibility of seeing the New York Jets star make an early return to the field after suffering a severe injury on the first day of the season. Sadly, that won’t be the case.
Aaron Rodgers admits defeat in battle to recover
On Sunday night, the New York Jets saw their hopes of a postseason trip ended by a 30-0 blanking from the Miami Dolphins and with that, the curtain came down on what was meant to be a Super Bowl-contending campaign for a team that made the biggest move of the offseason: A blockbuster trade for four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers. As we all know, the star quarterback tore his Achilles just minutes into his debut for the team back in Week 1, and the Jets have been reeling ever since.
Rodgers for his part, maintained a positive attitude throughout and to the surprise of many even spoke openly about the idea of returning to the field before the season was through. Of course, that was with the idea that the team would make it to the playoffs. Now that it hasn’t, Rodgers has admitted that he won’t be returning until next season. Speaking during an interview with Pat McAfee on Tuesday, the 40-year-old disclosed that he’s been practicing since the end of November, however, he understands that he’s not fully fit just yet. “If I was 100% today, I’d definitely be pushing to play, but the fact is, I’m not,” Rodgers said. “I’m still 14 weeks from my surgery. And being medically cleared as 100% healed is not realistic at 14 weeks.”
Was Aaron Rodgers too ambitious?
To be fair, no. If we go back to what the former Packers star said initially, he was banking on the Jets being able to make the playoffs. Indeed, returning before the end of the regular season was always going to be a stretch. “I think the whole time, it’s been hoping that we’re still in [the playoff race], because it was unrealistic to think that I’d be 100% medically cleared at any point in the regular season,” Rodgers said. “I do feel like that in the next three to four weeks that it would be possible to get to 100%, but obviously, not there.” At this point, the Jets’ have three more games to play before the season ends and the time for soul-searching begins. On the other hand, Rodgers did have some good news.
Aaron Rodgers is committed to the New York Jets
It would be an understatement to say that the Jets’ season ended badly, especially when considering the hype with which it started. Yet, Rodgers, as is his way, had a positive message for the team’s fans as he stated that he wants to play at least two more years in New York, meaning he would be there until 2025. “I don’t think next year will be my last year,” Rodgers said. “We don’t need to rebuild. We need to reload.”
As one can imagine, there are serious questions surrounding whether or not a player of Rodgers’ age and stage can get back to his best after suffering such a serious injury. Indeed, the answer to that question will be key in determining whether the Jets can turn themselves into true contenders. After all, this is a team that has not been to the playoffs in 13 years, the longest active drought in the NFL, and the longest in the four major sports leagues of the United States. Regardless, what remains clear is that Rodgers doesn’t intend to go anywhere and that can only be seen as good news for New York.