New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh said quarterback Aaron Rodgers "pushed it a little bit" during practice on Thursday (December 14) in his attempted early comeback from an Achilles injury.
Rodgers, 40, who was injured four plays into his lone season with the Jets, took snaps under center, ran some bootleg plays and jogged, showing remarkable progress in his recovery from what is typically a season-ending injury.
"He looks normal to me," Saleh said while laughing via FOX Sports. "It's unbelievable. Credit to him, especially in this day and age where a hangnail can affect a game week, but this dude is grinding to try to get himself back. It just shows how much he cares. I have an appreciation for him."
On Monday (December 11), TMZ Sports reported that Rodgers was expected to be medically cleared to return from his Achilles injury before his team's December 24 game against the Washington Commanders. The Jets could, however, decide to shut the 40-year-old down for the remainder of the season, currently at 5-8 with four games remaining.
Rodgers' 21-day practice window was opened on November 29, one day after he walked back his prediction of an early return from an Achilles injury during his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.
"It's always been, first, am I healthy? Then, are we alive? Are we in it? Are we playing good enough to make a run? Can I step in and protect myself and play at the level that I'm capable of playing?" Rodgers said. "But it's health first and are we alive for the playoffs, second."
Last month, Rodgers said he was aiming for a mid-December return while speaking to NBC Sports' Melissa Stark during the Jets' 'Sunday Night Football' loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11.
“He said, ‘I know it sounds insane, but you do a good surgery, you have a good patient, it makes this possible,’” Stark said on the telecast via NBC News, noting that Rodgers said he "just wasn't feeling it" when he decided not to throw passes during pregame warmups, as he'd done in the past few weeks.
Rodgers said he's been working on a weight-limiting treadmill during his rehabilitation which included jogging at 50% of his body weight and intends to increase it to 75% this week. Saleh said, "if the doctors clear him, we'll clear him," when asked about Rodgers' status during his postgame press conference.
Rodgers had previously told Stark that "his goal is to play again this season" during the Jets' loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in October. Last week, Rodgers admitted that telling Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. that he would be back in "a few weeks" is' "probably not anywhere near a realistic timeline."
“It’d be nice to be able to get back in a couple weeks,” Rodgers said during an earlier appearance on 'the Pat McAfee Show' on November 7. “That’s probably not anywhere near a realistic timeline. … It’s more of a phrase that didn’t have a specific timetable.”
A clip shared by ESPN's Adam Schefter hours before his appearance on McAfee's show showed Rodgers embracing James after the Jets' 27-6 loss to the Chargers on November 6 and saying he was "a few weeks" away from playing again, despite the projected season-ending injury, when James asked about his recovery.
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