Aaron Rodgers apparently initially refused to be brought back into the active roster by the New York Jets before the end of this NFL season.
Aaron Rodgers will not play again this season because he says he is not yet fully fit after his Achilles tendon injury in Week 1 of the season against the Buffalo Bills. Still, he was reactivated Wednesday at the end of his 21-day practice window and returned to the Jets’ 53-player roster. And apparently against his will.
As “Pro Football Talk” reports, the quarterback is said to have been reluctant to be activated this season because it would mean that at least one other player would lose his place on the roster. And that’s how it happened: According to the report, general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh ultimately made the decision to activate Rodgers even though he will no longer play this season. In the end, two players were negatively influenced by this.
Fullback Nick Bawden lost his place in the 53-man squad but was shortly added to the practice squad and is expected to be named to the matchday squad on Christmas Eve against the Washington Commanders. For Bawden, cornerback Kalon Barnes had to vacate his place on the practice squad. He, in turn, is said to have already been given the prospect that he would be included in the 90-player offseason squad via a futures contract after the end of the season.
Jets: Saleh and Douglas will probably stay
Meanwhile, Rodgers made himself useful, leading the scout team in practice against the Jets’ first defense on Friday in preparation for the Commanders game. This is said to have led to extremely competitive training. The bottom line is that it won’t help the Jets much because they have already missed the playoffs.
As far as the future of the team is concerned, according to reporter Ian Rapoport from the NFL Network, both Saleh and Douglas and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett can expect to stay. Despite Gang Green’s once again disappointing season, they were all explicitly praised by Rodgers on the “Pat McAfee Show” last Tuesday. “I believe in the leadership we have here,” said Rodgers, whose word seems to carry a lot of weight in New York at the moment.