When the New York Jets swung a blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers to acquire Aaron Rodgers in the spring, the Jets instantly had Super Bowl aspirations.
Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed in Week 1 when Rodgers tore his Achilles on New York’s first offensive series.
Typically, an Achilles tear takes about a year to fully recover from, so the initial prognosis was that Rodgers certainly wouldn’t be back under center until 2024.
But is an early return possible?
Apparently, the Jets have not ruled it out.
Prior to New York’s Week 6 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Rodgers was actually on the field with no crutches throwing the football around.
Then, on Tuesday, Jets head coach Robert Saleh said the team was “going to save a spot for him” in the event that Rodgers could make a comeback at some point this season.
However, Dr. John Kennedy, a professor of orthopedic surgery and chief of the foot and ankle division at NYU Langone, does not think it sounds very realistic and adds that Rodgers is taking a big risk by even attempting this.
“I’m not aware of anything that would get an athlete back in 14 weeks to play professional sports,’’ Kennedy said, via Mark Cannizzaro of The New York Post. “That would be an exceptional recovery. Professional athletes are exceptional human beings who do things the rest of us can’t do, and maybe he will. And if he does then we’re all wrong and it’ll be fantastic for the Jets and for Aaron. But if it all goes horribly wrong, that would be the risk that most of us [doctors] would say he would take if he came back in that kind of accelerated time, 14 weeks. That’s a very, very short time.’’
While the Jets got off to a 1-3 start sans Rodgers and appeared headed for a top-five draft pick, the team has suddenly hit its stride over the past couple of weeks, winning two straight games to push its record to .500 and work itself into the AFC playoff picture.
The Jets will take on the New York Giants in Week 7.
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