Could Aaron Rodgers Return For Jets vs. Browns in Week 17?

Aaron Rodgers hasn’t closed the door yet on a return this season from the torn Achilles he suffered just four snaps into his Jets debut in Week 1.

That means he could potentially be back in time to face the Cleveland Browns in Week 17, which would fall around the “mid-December” return date Melissa Stark of NBC reported during Sunday Night Football in Week 10.

Rodgers spoke more about the report Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show” but didn’t confirm mid-December was indeed his target for a return.

“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.”

The Browns will host the Jets at home on Thursday Night Football on Dec. 28 in the second-to-last game of the regular season and final installment of TNF this year.

Many expected Rodgers, a 10-time Pro Bowler who turns 40 on Dec. 2, to miss the entire season after suffering his injury, which typically requires around nine months of recovery time, but he has insisted on his weekly appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he is ahead of schedule.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported Sunday, however, that Rodgers will most likely not return until spring practices begin.

Who knows the true likelihood of a Rodgers return, but the Jets’ offense would unquestionably be more vulnerable for the Browns if Zach Wilson is still under center for New York — the 2021 second overall pick has a 59.8 completion percentage with just five touchdowns and six interceptions since taking over for Rodgers this season.

If Rodgers’ return is dependent on the Jets’ position in the AFC Playoff Picture, then it also doesn’t appear likely his return would happen that soon. New York is 4-5 and has slipped further down the standings by losing two of its last three games.

A late-season appearance from Rodgers still doesn’t feel likely, but the 10-time Pro Bowl QB has continued to pump air into the possibility of a potential return around the time his time would be playing in Cleveland.