Aaron Rodgers only added to the speculation about his possible return for the Jets this season following their loss to the Chargers.
As players and coaches shook hands postgame, Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. embraced Rodgers and asked, “Whenever you coming back, man?”
“Give me a couple of weeks,” Rodgers said, before James then told Rodgers that he saw his throwing workout before the Jets’ 27-6 loss.
Rodgers’ latest comment didn’t make the timeline for his recovery from a torn Achilles any more concrete, but a couple of weeks — if the 39-year-old meant the word using its definition — would take him to Week 12 or Week 13, when the Jets host the Dolphins and Falcons, respectively.
Perhaps it was intentionally vague.
Perhaps Rodgers knew the cameras were recording and was bluffing.
Or, perhaps, he’s serious and beginning to narrow the window for his return.
Still, that’d mark an acceleration of his already accelerated return, once that doctors have described as a dangerous one with possible ramifications for rushing back quickly.
Rodgers tore his Achilles just 4 offensive snaps into the Jets’ season opener against the Bills, when Leonard Floyd sacked him.
Before the Jets’ game Monday, Rodgers went through a throwing progression that began with throws between 20-25 yards and progressively increased until he tossed 50-yard throws toward the tip zone.
He went through motions as if he were dropping back within the pocket, before zipping off throw after throw.
Following the workout, Rodgers spoke with various people on the sector, including ESPN’s Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
He also strolled into the Jets locker room with no cart pregame, donning a hat and sunglasses as he waved to the camera.
Rodgers, from his first interview following the injury that’s typically season-ending, predicted that he’d return sooner than expected.
He hasn’t strayed from that since, providing weekly updates during interviews on “The Pat McAfee Show” and insisting, on Oct. 17, that he’s “way ahead of schedule.”
“It makes everybody just feel like anything is feasible,” Sauce Gardner told The Post’s Steve Serby about Rodgers’ recovery. “It makes everybody grind and motivates us to have the option to have a man like that on the team. I’m pretty sure it motivates the opposite guys who’re injured, because they probably think because he’s capable of do this with the sort of injury that he had, they’ll do it as well.”
Rodgers, even when he’s not fully healed, might inject some life right into a Jets offense that struggled again Monday — as Zach Wilson lost two fumbles and the offense didn’t rating a touchdown, managing only a pair of field goals when drives stalled.
Wilson accomplished 33-of-49 passes for 263 yards, though 68 of those got here on the ultimate drive.
