Aaron Rodgers filmed throwing, moving well at Jets practice

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers appeared to be in a groove on Thursday as reporters captured a glimpse of the veteran going through practice. The 40-year-old QB threw passes and moved his feet well in drills that reporters got on video. It’s certainly a sight for sore eyes for Jets fans who’ve gone through the lows of the season with backup quarterbacks.

Rodgers is just 13 weeks removed from the surgical procedure he had on his torn Achilles. The next step on his road to a full recovery would be sprinting and taking live reps with the team while under pressure. He’ll need to have full mobility if he wants to return this season and play behind an offensive line that’s given up 55 sacks so far.

Aaron Rodgers is back on the practice field. Moving well, considering he’s only 13 weeks removed from Achilles surgery. #Jets pic.twitter.com/onu1hdnKTr

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) December 14, 2023

On Tuesday, Rodgers responded to reports that he could potentially return by Christmas time when the Jets play against the Washington Commanders.

Though he did not confirm that timetable for return from his Achilles injury, he is practicing, including some seven-on-seven, and the New York Jets just won over the weekend.

Rodgers begins 7-on-7 work

The Jets are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture however at 5-8. Still, it’s all wishful thinking but Rodgers is certainly pushing to get as healthy as possible as fast as possible.

“Yeah, I’m not sure where that report’s coming from,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show. “There’s been a lot of interesting reporting over the last few weeks of our team. I’m not sure about some of these reports. But you know, there’s loose lips, you know, everywhere. I’m not gonna let that sink my ship though. I’m getting better, improving.

“There’s still some things I got to do in order to be able to be cleared. But I’ve done some limited practice the last couple of weeks and then some seven-on-seven stuff at the end of practice.”

Without Rodgers last weekend, the Jets had an impressive performance in a 30-6 win over the Houston Texans. Backup Zach Wilson went 27-of-36 passing for 301 yards and two touchdowns, which was his best game of the year so far. New York would have to win out to make the playoffs at this point, currently sitting at less than a 1% chance to make a postseason run. However, Rodgers could choose to return regardless of the Jets’ record.

On Sunday, the Jets play on the road against the Miami Dolphins. Miami is 9-4 but coming off of a loss against the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football.

On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this report.