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, “When you coming back, man?”
“Give me a few 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 few 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 starting to narrow the window for his return.
Still, that’d mark an acceleration of his already accelerated return, one that doctors have described as a risky one with possible ramifications for rushing back quickly.
Rodgers tore his Achilles just four 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 started with throws between 20-25 yards and gradually increased until he tossed 50-yard throws toward the end zone.
He went through motions as if he were dropping back in the pocket, before zipping off throw after throw.
Following the workout, Rodgers spoke with various people on the field, including ESPN’s Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
He also strolled into the Jets locker room without a 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 earlier 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 possible,” Sauce Gardner told The Post’s Steve Serby about Rodgers’ recovery. “It makes everybody grind and motivates us to be able to have a guy like that on the team. I’m pretty sure it motivates the other guys who are injured, because they probably think because he’s able to do that with the kind of injury that he had, they can do it as well.”
Rodgers, even if he’s not fully healed, might inject some life into a Jets offense that struggled again Monday — as Zach Wilson lost two fumbles and the offense didn’t score a touchdown, managing just a pair of field goals when drives stalled.
Wilson completed 33-of-49 passes for 263 yards, though 68 of those came on the final drive.
