By Zack Rosenblatt and Larry HolderNov 30, 2023
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Thursday that he didn’t think it “would make a ton of sense” to try and return to games this season if the team was out of playoff contention.
Rodgers made his comments in a discussion with a group of Jets beat writers one day after the team activated his 21-day practice window from the injured reserve. Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles four plays into the Jets’ Week 1 game against the Buffalo Bills.
The Jets are 4-7 and have less than a 1 percent chance of making the playoffs, per the New York Times’ NFL playoff simulator.
“A comeback this year before the four-month mark would mean I’m not 100 percent healthy, so it would be a risk for myself, for the team to sign off on,” Rodgers said. “If we’re out of it, I would be surprised if they would OK that, to come back.”
Rodgers said he understands the risk of reinjuring himself by trying to play before this season ends.
“My thing is: What’s the worst that can happen?” he said, adding, “in my opinion there’s not a downside to coming back and reinjuring it” since he’d have enough time to rehab it and return again in five to six months.
Rodgers was also asked Thursday if his return to the Jets next year is contingent on head coach Robert Saleh, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and general manager Joe Douglas remaining with the team. He called it a “trap question” but said that the Jets have the “recipe for success” with this group.
He added that Douglas does a great job and that Saleh and Hackett are “fantastic,” but that their job stability is “out of my control.”
Can the Jets protect Rodgers?
Rodgers said in an interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday that the ability to protect himself would be a factor in whether he returned to the Jets this season. Protecting yourself is one thing, but can the Jets’ offensive line protect him enough?
By the looks of it, the answer is no.
The Jets have some of the league’s worst pass protection rates, via TruMedia:
- Sacks allowed: 47 (30th)
- Sack percentage: 11.1 percent (31st)
- Pressures allowed: 188 (28th)
- Pressure percentage: 42.5 percent (30th)
The average time to throw for Jets QBs this season has been 2.88 seconds, which is the 11th longest rate. Rodgers’ time to throw rate last season was 2.62 seconds and 2.51 seconds in 2021. For perspective, the Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa is the fastest to unload the football this year, averaging 2.26 seconds to throw.
