Jets teammates open up about possible Aaron Rodgers comeback

It's unofficially early into the holiday season, but New York Jets players already know they want Santa to bring them the return of quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the lineup before the NFL campaign concludes. 

"It makes everybody just feel like anything is possible," Jets cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner said during a chat with Steve Serby of the New York Post about Rodgers possibly playing again this season. "It makes everybody grind and motivates us to be able to have a guy like that on the team. I’m pretty sure it motivates the other guys who are injured because they probably think because he’s able to do that with the kind of injury that he had, they can do it as well." 

Super Bowl hopes that hovered over the Jets throughout the summer seemingly disappeared in an instant when Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles early into the regular-season opener on Sept. 11. However, the future Hall of Famer who turns 40 years old on Dec. 2 has made a remarkable recovery and is moving around nicely without crutches. Rodgers isn't yet jogging, but wide receiver Garrett Wilson noted that the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player is motivated to silence doubters. 

"It’s all about him wanting to prove to the world that you can’t put a time limit on anyone, you can’t tell anyone what they can do, and he has all our belief in this facility," Wilson said about Rodgers. "Whenever he’s ready to come back, we’ll be ready to support him, whether it’s this season or a year from now, I don’t want anyone to rush him, I don’t want him to feel rushed." 

Pass-rusher Bryce Huff indicated Rodgers is driving others in the locker room to be the best versions of themselves as the 4-3 Jets attempt to remain in the playoff picture for as long as their Week 1 QB1 isn't ruled out for the remainder of the season. 

"It’s really cool and it’s really motivational in the sense that guys aren’t supposed to be able to come back that quick from injuries, and his determination and his manifestation into his own self, his own process is really cool to see," Huff added about Rodgers. 

Jets general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh were both careful this week to offer no promises about when Rodgers will take meaningful snaps either later this year or at some point in 2024. Gardner made it known he cares more about the version of Rodgers capable of winning elimination games played in January. 

"I just want to make sure he’s good as a person," Gardner continued during his comments. "I know he’s gonna compete, I know he’s gonna make sure if he do come back, he’s that guy that we all know he is...I just want to make sure he’s good mentally going through all this stuff, just letting him know he’s not alone through all of this." 

As of Friday afternoon, oddschecker listed the Jets as 3.5-point underdogs for the upcoming "Monday Night Football" home game versus the 3-4 Los Angeles Chargers.