Wednesday is Decision Day for the Jets and Aaron Rodgers.
The quarterback must be added to the active roster that day or his season will officially be over.
The expectation is the Jets will activate him, but that does not mean he will play this season.
It would allow Rodgers to continue to practice with the team, but he would take up a roster spot.
On Monday, Jets coach Robert Saleh would not tip his hand.
“I don’t have anything for you guys on that one right now,” Saleh said. “Like I said, as far as I’m concerned he’s still in rehab.”
Rodgers has targeted this week as his return date since having surgery to repair his Achilles on Sept. 13.
It would be the quickest anyone has ever returned from an Achilles tear.
Rodgers began practicing on Nov. 29, which opened the 21-day window to return from IR that closes Wednesday.
Rodgers has said his target while he was rehabbing was playing the Commanders on Christmas Eve.
However, the 5-9 Jets were eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday and it makes little sense to let him play.
It is a conversation the Jets must have with Rodgers.
“I’m sure you can make arguments either way on both sides of the coin,” Saleh said. “But, like I said, until that conversation is actually real, it’s not a conversation I’m thinking about.”
Rodgers will make his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday and he may shed some light on what the plan is.
He has acknowledged before that if the Jets were not fighting for a playoff berth, the team would probably not clear him to play.
“It would be a risk for myself, for the team to sign off on,” Rodgers said on Nov. 30. “If we’re out of it, I would be surprised if they would OK that to come back.”
It would make little sense for the Jets to risk Rodgers getting re-injured or suffering another injury with the team playing out the string.
He was on the sideline Sunday in South Florida watching the Jets’ offensive line get run over by the Dolphins in their 30-0 loss.
Zach Wilson suffered a concussion after getting sacked four times in the first half.
The Dolphins had six sacks in the game.
The question is how hard Rodgers will push to play.
It clearly means something to him to prove skeptics wrong and return to the field.
“From Sept. 12 on, my goal was to come back to the practice field and try to play,” Rodgers said on Nov. 30. “Obviously, that was contingent on my health and also our team being in position to make a run.”
Will he now want to overlook that last part about the team to try to get on the field?
Will he be content to play a series before the season is over, just to say he made it back?
Would the Jets sign off on that?
The Jets have not told Rodgers “no” too much since trading for him in April.
How hard will they push back if Rodgers insists on playing?
Saleh said the Jets will consider what playing Rodgers means for next year.
“For sure, you always do [look at the big picture],” Saleh said. “Aaron does want to play. Let’s not confuse that one. That’s why he’s been working so hard to get back and his willingness to play even if he’s not 100 percent is at the forefront of his mind. He wants to go. But, like I said, until he’s actually cleared, I’m not going to talk about it with anybody.”
The Jets could add him to the roster on Wednesday and let him practice for the final three weeks of the season even if he does not play.
If he is not activated, he is no longer allowed to participate in practice.
He would be relegated to a side field to work with trainers.
The first step is Rodgers getting medically cleared.
“We’ve got to meet with his doctors and see if there is actual clearance on their part,” Saleh said. “There’s got to be clearance on our doctors’ part. There’s a lot of steps there. Then, obviously there has to be a discussion with Aaron in terms of what the next step would be and the comfort level of everybody on board. It’s not something that’s made in a vacuum. All the right conversations would be had.”