Aaron Rodgers hints that his 2023 season is over, but he does offer some surprisingly good news for the Jets

Aaron Rodgers has been practicing with the Jets for almost three weeks now, but at this point, it definitely doesn’t look like he’ll be returning to play in 2023. 

During an interview with Pat McAfee on Tuesday, Rodgers revealed that even though he’s been practicing since Nov. 30,  he’s still not 100% recovered from the Achilles injury he suffered back in Week 1. 

“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.”

Although there’s been plenty of speculation over the past few weeks about whether Rodgers would be able to return this season, it doesn’t seem like that was ever the plan, at least not for the regular season. According to Rodgers, he thought he might be able to return if the Jets made the playoffs, but getting back for a regular-season game always seemed like a long shot to him. 

“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.”

In the best-case scenario, Rodgers thinks he could be ready in three weeks, but with the Jets eliminated from the playoffs their season will be over in three weeks, so there will be no return for him this season. 

Although 2023 ended on a low note for Rodgers and the Jets, the four-time MVP did have some surprisingly good news for his team on Tuesday. The QB, who turned 40 on Dec. 2, said he wants to play at least TWO more years for the Jets, which would keep him in New York through the 2025 season. 

“I don’t think next year will be my last year,” Rodgers said, via SNY TV. “We don’t need to rebuild. We need to reload.”

Of course, the one thing that no one can predict is how Rodgers will play going forward after missing an entire season due to a serious injury. There’s no guarantee he’ll return to his MVP form, but if he does, then the Jets will have a chance to end their 13-year drought without a playoff appearance, which is not only the longest active drought in the NFL, but the longest in the four major North American sports leagues. 

With Rodgers planning to play two more seasons, that’s also good news for general manager Joe Douglas, coach Robert Saleh and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Rodgers gave all three men a stamp of approval on Tuesday and it seems pretty clear that all three of them will be sticking around in New York as long as Rodgers is there.