Aaron Rodgers reportedly plans on playing for Jets this season amid Achilles recovery

Aaron Rodgers‘ season may not be over, after all. The four-time league MVP and Jets quarterback still hopes to play again this season, according to NBC sideline reporter Melissa Stark.

Rodgers returned to MetLife Stadium on Sunday, joining his team before the primetime game agianst the Chiefs. Prior to kickoff, he met up with Stark.

“I spoke to him a few hours ago on the field, he told me he was medically cleared to fly and traveled in from Los Angeles last night,” Stark reported. “Only (head coach) Robert Saleh knew he was coming. Rodgers told me he had to be here. He wanted to tell the team to relax, to ignore the noise.”

So, Rodgers’ primary goal was to provide leadership to his new team. But he also told Stark that he’s not closing the door on his 2023 season.

“His plan is to rejoin the team permanently after their Week 7 bye,” Stark reported. “And he told me his goal is to play again this season.”

NBC's Melissa Stark reports on her conversation with Aaron Rodgers.

"His plan is to rejoin the team permanently after their Week 7 bye. And he told me his goal is to play again this season." pic.twitter.com/Pwu0u8JfY9

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 2, 2023

Rodgers was injured in the season opener, playing just a few plays before leaving the game with an Achilles injury. He’s been “aggressively” rehabbing the injury over the past few weeks.

Aaron Rodgers provides update on Achilles rehab

Rodgers‘ first season with the New York Jets ended pretty abruptly. After just a handful of plays in the opening week, the four-time NFL MVP suffered an Achilles injury that will cost him the rest of the year.

On Tuesday, Rodgers made an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show — as he does each week. While he doesn’t really get into specifics about his status, he did provide an update about his recovery.

“It’s been operating. I mean, there’s been some good days and some bad days, for sure,” Rodgers said. “But last week was a good week of recovery and had a good day yesterday. Sunday was the lightest day since I started rehab, and also the worst day I’ve had in a while. Yesterday was a good day, today is a good day, making a lot of progress.

“Every day it’s something — a little less swelling, little more movement, little more mobility, little more strength. So, we’re building up. Just a process.”

While it’s not been a fun “process” for Rodgers, he’s clearly making good progress. Enough to the point where he believes he might still be able to play at some point this season.