Jets players react to Aaron Rodgers' return to practice

Temporary New York Jets starting quarterback Tim Boyle happily welcomed the return to practice of future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers amid the club's four-game losing streak. 

"Aaron keeps me loose," Boyle explained, as shared by John Pullano of the Jets' website. "...I think the cool thing with Aaron is that he brings so much wisdom. Aaron going 40 years old, and he looks great by the way, and I know his birthday is coming up, but he just brings so much wisdom and confidence to the QB room. He tries to make me think the next level."

The Jets have 21 days from Wednesday to either activate Rodgers, who turns 40 this coming Saturday or shut him down for the rest of the season. He hasn't played since he suffered a torn Achilles on Sept. 11 but reportedly could return to the lineup for the Week 15 game at the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 17 depending on how the 4-7 Jets play over their next two contests. 

Boyle will start a second straight game when the Jets host the 5-6 Atlanta Falcons this Sunday. As of late Thursday morning, oddschecker listed New York as a three-point underdog for that matchup. 

Many within the football community believe Rodgers would be foolish to play again before next summer considering the ESPN Football Power Index gave the Jets a 0.5% chance to make the playoffs on Thursday. New York defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson disagrees with such takes. 

"How do you tell a person to not come back who’s one of the most competitive mother-------? He’s up there like Kobe Bryant-esque," Jefferson said about Rodgers while speaking with Steve Serby of the New York Post. "So how can you tell a person like that? I know he got a house in California where it’s warm. The fact that he chooses to come back here and spend his free time with us and come out here and grind with us, it just shows you the kind of person he is, man."

Boyle replaced the benched Zach Wilson for last Friday's home game against Miami and completed 27-of-38 pass attempts for 179 yards with two interceptions and a garbage-time touchdown. Even though there's no sign Boyle is any kind of fix for a struggling offense, defensive end John Franklin-Myers nevertheless admires Rodgers for not yet punting on the remainder of what seems to be a lost campaign for the organization. 

"He’s a guy who kinda understands you play the game above the neck, it becomes less risky to do something like that when you play more with your head and not with your body," Franklin-Myers told Serby about Rodgers. "As long as he’s comfortable with his decision, then we all back that. At the end of the day, we want him to help this team win whether that be this year, next year, the future."

Rodgers seems committed to playing for the Jets through next season. Whether or not he's jeopardizing those plans by attempting a comeback ahead of Christmas shall be seen.