DECEMBER 3: In keeping with Rodgers’ comments, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Rodgers is not expected to play in a game if the Jets are eliminated from playoff contention by the time he is ready to do so. The 4-7, Tim Boyle-piloted Jets are unlikely to pull themselves back into the postseason picture over the next couple of weeks, which means, as Rapoport observes, that Rodgers probably will not play this year.

For all of Rodgers’ efforts to make an unprecedented return to the field, this always felt like the most plausible outcome. Rapoport says that New York could still activate Rodgers before his activation window closes on December 20, but if that happens, he would only be utilized as the third, emergency QB. And, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Rodgers will not take any starter reps.

NOVEMBER 30: The Jets opened Aaron Rodgers‘ practice window yesterday, giving the team three weeks to decide if they should activate the quarterback to the active roster. As ESPN’s Rich Cimini points out, many believed that Rodgers could be eyeing a return for the December 24 game against the Commanders, and the QB confirmed that’s his target. However, when speaking to reporters today, Rodgers wouldn’t rule out an earlier return, noting that “anything is possible.”

[RELATED: Jets Open Aaron Rodgers’ Practice Window]

Of course, there are still plenty of hurdles to overcome before Rodgers can enter the starting lineup. While the QB acknowledged how great it felt to return to the practice field, he admitted that he’s “not anywhere near ready to play.” Rodgers also reiterated that the Jets would have to be in playoff contention for him (or the organization) to consider a return this season.

“A comeback this year before the four-month mark would mean I’m not 100 percent healthy, so it’d be a risk for myself,” Rodgers said (via Cimini). “For the team to sign off on if we’re out of it, I’d be surprised if they would OK that to come back.”

While Rodgers noted the “risk” that would accompany an in-season return, he explained that the chance of re-injury wouldn’t have much of an impact on his 2024 availability. While he wouldn’t be 100 percent healthy, Rodgers said there was little “downside” to playing this year, and if he did injure his Achilles, he’d be ready to go in five to six months anyway (per Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic).

While the risk of re-injury won’t have any impact on Rodgers’ desire to play in 2024, it’s uncertain if the Jets’ brass would change his opinion. Per Connor Hughes of SNYtv, Rodgers wouldn’t say if his 2024 plans are tied to the job status of head coach Robert Saleh, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, and/or general manager Joe Douglas.

Rodgers returned to practice on a limited basis yesterday, participating in a handful of seven-on-seven drills. Rodgers sat out today’s practice, and Cimini tweets that these off-days are part of the player’s rehab plan.

“Obviously, I can drop back, I can do some things in a small circle, but I don’t think I can protect myself as well as I’d like to at this point,” Rodgers said. “So I’ve got to do a little more. In practice, I have to take live team reps [in 11 on 11].”

Despite defying medical norms and risking the obvious possibility of reinjury, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues to claim his intentions to return by mid-December. According to Rich Cimini of ESPN, the veteran passer hopes “to be trending towards practicing by” his 40th birthday on December 2.

Rodgers made ambitious claims of a mid-December return about two weeks ago before backtracking those comments quite a bit. Not only did Rodgers hesitate to commit to his accelerated timeline for a return, but he also decided to hedge his return bid on whether or not the team was still in playoff contention by the time he was healthy, saying that if the Jets were “not in it in three or four weeks, that could take (his timeline) a different way.”

After a three-game losing streak that has left New York at 4-6, currently good for the 14-seed in the AFC (seven spots outside of a wild-card spot), a playoff bid seems like a long shot. Still, Rodgers pointed out examples of other 4-6 teams in NFL history, namely the 2016 Packers and 2009 Jets, who started out 4-6 before rallying their way to Conference Championship Games, as reasons not to count out the struggling Jets of 2023.

Once again, Rodgers’ stance seems to have changed as Jay Glazer of FOX Sports informed us this morning that Rodgers no longer is concerned about the Jets ability to contend for a playoff spot. Glazer claims that, even if the Jets are out of the playoff race, Rodgers “still wants to show he was able to come back faster from that Achilles tear – faster than pretty much any quarterback ever.” Rodgers is so dead set on this goal that he isn’t even aiming to return to full form. He doesn’t feel the need to be able to escape the pocket and scramble, he just wants to be able to say he was able to come back into a game this season and play some form of the quarterback position.

Rodgers reportedly hopes to rejoin the team this week, though that likely doesn’t mean a return to practice. If the team abides by Rodgers’ wishes to return around his birthday, December 6 becomes the likely date of designation for return, at which point, his 21-day practice window would open. This would allow Rodgers to be activated in time for the Jets’ Christmas Eve matchup with the Commanders, a date that has been mentioned as an unofficial target for return.

That’s a big “if,” though, as head coach Robert Saleh has set the record straight. Saleh claims that Rodgers’ updates and targets are all “a moot point” until the doctors clear him. While he had said days ago that he will not block Rodgers’ route to a return, Saleh clearly has some stipulations that need to be met in order for the quarterback to return to the field. Regardless of how ready Rodgers feels or how far ahead of schedule he claims to be, Saleh is most concerned about the opinions of the team’s doctors, who will need to clear Rodgers in order to open a path for return.

So, according to Rodgers’ own reports, he’s on track to return by mid-December, far ahead of schedule for any previous such cases of recovery. Even if he’s not quite healthy enough to play like the four-time MVP he is, he’ll consider it a win just to return to the field at all. Saleh, though, warns not to weigh Rodgers’ comments too heavily, as the approval from team doctors still reigns as the weightiest opinion in the matter.

NOVEMBER 19: Rodgers told Jay Glazer of FOX Sports that he wants to return to practice on December 2, which is the day he will turn 40 (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). If Rodgers can realize that goal, then he would obviously be on track to make the mid-December return to game action that he alluded to previously.

As CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports, the four-time MVP is aiming for New York’s’ Christmas Eve contest against Washington as his first game since Week 1. That would line up sensibly with a practice return in mid-December, though plenty will be determined by the timing of his 21-day practice window being opened. Anderson confirms, however, that Rodgers still has a long way to go to receive clearance in the first place.

Of course, if the Jets lose their next two games, they will be an extreme longshot to make the postseason before Rodgers even gets back on the practice field, which would seemingly render a 2023 comeback needlessly risky.

NOVEMBER 16: As unrealistic as it sounded near the beginning of this journey, Aaron Rodgers is still beating the drum of a late-season return from the Achilles tear he suffered four plays into his Jets career. Reinjury risk obviously introduces a complication, but the Jets would not stand in the future Hall of Famer’s way.

The Jets are banking on Rodgers coming back for the 2024 season, after the parties reached an agreement in which the 19th-year QB gave back money. Now attached to a two-year, $75MM deal, Rodgers remains attached to a fully guaranteed 2024 sum. Rather than ensuring the most expensive QB investment in team history will be 100% for the offseason program, the Jets would give Rodgers the final say about returning late this season.

“Aaron’s a big boy, a grown man, and no one’s going to know Aaron’s body like Aaron knows his body,” Robert Saleh said, via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. “And if he feels after all the doctors clear him — I’m sure there’s a million of them, I have no idea — but if Aaron says he wants to play, he’s going to play.”

Jets GM Joe Douglas previously said the team expects to have the soon-to-be 40-year-old passer back late this season, adding more fuel to this plot Rodgers unveiled in September. Rodgers’ weekly Pat McAfee Show appearances have kept him in the public eye more often compared to just about every other player who has suffered a major early-season injury, extending this as a regular talking point. The four-time MVP said this week mid-December is a realistic goal. Though, Rodgers has stopped short of revealing a precise timetable.

The Jets’ record will naturally play into this unlikely comeback coming to fruition, with Rodgers confirming the Jets have to be in the playoff mix for him to turn this comeback effort into a return. New York has dropped to 4-5, seeing Zach Wilson‘s struggles continue to the point the team has not scored a touchdown in 36 drives. The Jets face the Bills and Dolphins over the next two weeks. After the back-to-back losses, ESPN’s FPI gives the Jets just a 4.1% chance of qualifying for the playoffs. Their performance in these two upcoming AFC East tilts may well determine how much longer this Rodgers-driven plot will last.

Rodgers has a history of a late-season comebacks, with mixed results. He has twice returned after sustaining a broken collarbone, re-emerging in the Packers’ 2013 regular-season finale — to help them hold off the Bears for the NFC North title — and resurfacing in December 2017. The latter return led to a one-off in which the Packers held out an IR-return spot — back when teams only had two such activations available — for Rodgers, who played in Week 15. A narrow loss to the Panthers led to the Packers placing Rodgers back on IR, as the organization exercised caution against the risk of reinjury.

Collarbone injuries and Achilles ruptures are obviously different matters, and Rodgers returning would be a landmark development in terms of injury rehab efforts. While the more realistic scenario is the Jets see Rodgers on the field again next season, Wilson — whom Saleh confirmed remains New York’s starter — is now in charge of this storyline.

NOVEMBER 14: Rodgers provided some more context on a potential return during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. The QB admitted that he “never said anything definitive” regarding a potential return date and said “nothing’s changed” about his timeline (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com).

However, the QB is clearly keeping the door open to a return this season. In addition to his actual recovery, Rodgers will also consider the Jets’ playoff positioning over the upcoming weeks.

“There’s no set date,” Rodgers said. “It could change. If I have a great week this week and next week, that could be accelerated. If we are not in it in three or four weeks, that could take it a different way. I expect us to be in it and I expect to come back, so that’s about all I can tell you at this point.”

NOVEMBER 13: The Jets delivered another poor performance on offense during Sunday night’s loss to the Raiders, adding to the list of disappointing showings by Zach Wilson under center. He remains in place as New York’s starter, but the possibility still exists that Aaron Rodgers could suit up by the end of the season.

The latter has publicly stated his intention of returning to full health at least in time for the start of the 2024 campaign. That would represent a realistic goal under normal circumstances, but Rodgers has repeatedly hinted at an improbable comeback in time for the stretch run this year. In the latest development on that front, the four-time MVP said he is aiming to suit up in mid-December during last night’s broadcast (h/t NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo).

Rodgers underwent a ‘speed bridge’ procedure on his torn Achilles, a relatively new operation aimed at greatly shortening the recovery process. Still, being available for any game action in 2023 would represent a highly impressive feat. Having resumed throwing roughly one month ago, the 39-year-old showed signs of being able to play late in the season (with the caveat that doing so would only realistically be possible if the Jets found themselves in postseason contention late in the year).

The Jets are on board with the notion of Rodgers being able to play in the relatively near future, so his update represents a further sign of the parties’ shared goal to rescue a season which is under threat of going off the rails due to poor offensive play. New York has managed just three offensive touchdowns over the past five games, and Wilson has yet to develop as hoped. The latter still had the unanimous backing of the organization before Week 10, and it will be interesting to see if a change to the QB depth chart will be given new consideration in the coming days.

For now, the hopes of the 4-5 Jets will still rest on Wilson’s shoulders with respect to sufficiently complementing a strong defense and running game. Roughly one month from now, however, Rodgers could be on track to reprise his starter’s role depending on his continued recovery and the state of the team in the closing stages of the campaign.

Zach Wilson has helped lead the Jets to three straight wins, giving the team reason for optimism they could remain in the postseason hunt later in the year. As a result, the door remains open to Aaron Rodgers returning this season.

Many personnel within the organization are confident Rodgers can rehab in time to play again before the end of the campaign, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated notes. While no one – including the 39-year-old himself – has made a definitive statement on the topic, it is clear all parties are still intent on his Achilles rehab reaching the point where he able to suit up again relatively soon. During his latest Pat McAfee Show appearance, Rodgers said (via ESPN’s Rich Cimini) he can now walk without issue but still has a long way to go in his recovery process.

“Obviously, I’m not going to put words in Aaron’s mouth,” general manager Joe Douglas said in a media appearance on Tuesday. “We’re obviously excited to see him progress through his rehab. Look, we’re taking everything day by day… I’m not a doctor, so I can’t go into the specifics of the rehab, but yeah, we’re expecting Aaron to be back” (video link via SNY).

Douglas clarified that he anticipates Rodgers will simply be back with the organization on a full-time, in-person basis rather than on the field. Still, the latter scenario is believed to be in play, as has been the case for some time now. Rodgers underwent a relatively new procedure aimed at dramatically shortening the recovery time, and his progress to date has been encouraging. Any in-season return would only be reasonable if the Jets were to be in contention, of course, something which seemed highly unlikely during Wilson’s first few games under center.

After New York made it clear a starting-caliber replacement would not be brought in, the former second overall pick has seen his performances stabilize to a degree. Wilson posted a passer rating of 105.2 in the Jets’ primetime loss to the Chiefs, and that figure has landed in the mid-70s each week since. While his 58.3% completion percentage and 5:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio certainly leave plenty to be desired, the team’s stout defense could keep them in the running for a wild-card berth in the AFC.

If that turns out to be the case, serious attention will no doubt continue to be paid to Rodgers’ ongoing rehab process. For the time being, though, there is notable optimism all around that a once-surprising comeback is still very much in play.