(Reuters) – Four-times National Football League MVP Aaron Rodgers said he has not fully recovered from the Achilles tear he suffered in Week One and will not return this season as the Jets have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Rodgers, 40, said that he would have tried to take the field if there was a chance of New York making a postseason push but those hopes ended with the team’s 30-0 drubbing by the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
“If we were in a position where we were looking like a playoff team… getting ready for the first round of the playoffs would have been a no-brainer,” Rodgers said Tuesday on the Pat McAfee Show.
“Now without a timetable to come back, obviously we can be as smart as we need to be.”
Rodgers raised eyebrows when he said he wanted to return this season after undergoing surgery to repair the tendon, a procedure that can take a year or more to fully recover from.
Rodgers, who was acquired by the Jets in a blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers in April, said next year will not be his final season.
“I wanted at least two years and I feel like this year was kind of a lost year,” he said.
“I only played a couple snaps and wasn’t able to go out there and prove what I’m capable of.
“I don’t think next year will be my last year… I want to be a starter at 40, I want to be a starter at 41. I want to see what I can get out of this body.”
He said he feels the Jets (5-9) have a solid foundation of coaches and players that should allow them to contend for a championship in the near-term.
“I believe in the leadership here, I believe in our guys,” he said.
“It’s not a situation where we have to rebuild. We need to reload a little bit and there will be some tough decisions for sure, but I like the pieces that we have in place.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Toby Davis)
