Aaron Rodgers has all-but ruled himself out of playing for the New York Jets this season, with the team now ruled out of the playoffs.
The 40-year-old didn’t say directly that he would not play again but admitted he no longer has a timetable for getting back on the field. Hopes for the Jets to make the playoff were ended on Sunday through a 30-0 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
‘In the next three-to-four-weeks it would be possible to get to 100%,’ Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee show on Tuesday. ‘If I was 100% then I’d be pushing to play but the fact is I’m not.
‘We’re in the hypothetical world – if we were to win Sunday I’d need 11 on 11 practice, can I get out the pocket, how would I have responded. It still would have been a conversation, I would have to check the boxes, practice well and respond well.
‘Getting back for the first round of playoffs would have been an absolute no-brainer. I had kind of always circled the 24th in my head, from when I got injured. I put my sights on that. I feel good about where I am now, at least there would have been a conversation about it.
Aaron Rodgers has appeared to rule himself out of playing for the Jets this season
Rodgers watched the Jets lose to the Dolphins on Sunday, ending their hopes of the playoffs
Rodgers tore his Achilles just four snaps into his career with the Jets on September 11
‘There’s always a fear of re-rupture but I’m not going to slow my rehab down. Now without a timetable to come back we can be as smart as we need to be.’
His current contract with the Jets ends after next season but Rodgers said he will look to play past that.
Asked if next year will be his ‘Last Dance’, Rodgers replied: ‘I don’t think so.
‘When I came here I got a renewed passion and love for the game, and everything has been amazing here, the people I’ve gotten to work with, the relationships I’ve been able to form, my teammates, the men and women who work at 1 Jets Drive, has been really special.
‘I wanted at least two years, and I feel the last year has been a lost year only playing two snaps, I wasn’t able to go out there and prove what I’m capable of and see what we’re capable of as a team. I don’t think next year will be my last year.
‘I feel like I can play more years and be effective into my 40s. Which is crazy, because I thought I’d probably be sitting on my couch somewhere at 40, but now I want to be a starter at 40, at 41, and see what I can get out of this body.
‘The night is darkest before the dawn. It is going to be a long offseason but we are going to rise again.’
Rodgers tore his Achilles on the fourth snap of his first Jets game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium on September 11.
Rodgers said that he wants to play on for the Jets past his current two-year contract
Rodgers said he was ready to play into his 40s, motivated by his lost season in 2023
Two days later, he had surgery with Dr Neal ElAttrache and has since recovered at an incredible speed from an injury that usually ends a season without any question.
Rodgers said he will be based on the west coast for the offseason but will return to Jets Drive after the NFL Draft.
The Jets have three games left of the regular season and the final home game is on Christmas Eve against the Commanders.
They finish the season with two road games against the Browns and the Patriots.