Aaron Rodgers remains the starting quarterback for the New York Jets, at least for the time being.
Despite the Jets’ recent troubles and his apparent infirmities, Rodgers will “absolutely” start as quarterback for the team on Sunday when they play the Seattle Seahawks. Following their bye week, Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich stated on Monday that Rodgers is in the best health he has been in the past month and that the team is not currently thinking about benching him for the remainder of the season.
"All I can say — and you'd have to ask Aaron if he's fully healthy — but he's better off today than he's been as of late," Ulbrich said, via ESPN. "So he's definitely feeling healthier than he has for probably the past month. And a healthy Aaron Rodgers is an Aaron Rodgers we all love. So I'm excited about what that looks like."
Ulbrich also denied any knowledge of rumours that Rodgers has been refusing Jets medical scans. Rodgers has reportedly declined the medical scans because he didn’t want to “disclose the severity of his injuries out of fear of having to come off the field,” according to an earlier report this week from Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
Ulbrich claimed he was unaware of the report, although he did not claim it was false.
For Rodgers and the Jets, who fired their general manager and head coach and are now committing to a complete rebuild, this season has not gone well. The Jets have lost seven of their previous eight games and are only 3-8 going into Sunday’s game. This is Rodgers’ first complete season with the Jets after suffering an Achilles injury four plays into his debut with the team the previous season. He has passed for 2,442 yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
The 40-year-old has also had a lot of injuries this season. He has played through all of his injuries, however he did experience a knee injury, a “significant” hamstring strain, and a low ankle sprain. Rapoport used the extremely vague term “banged up” to describe Rodgers’ injuries, but it’s unclear how serious they are, particularly if Rodgers is genuinely refusing to be tested.
Rodgers will play on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, even though his future with the team is uncertain and the team is almost guaranteed to miss the playoffs this season. It’s still unclear what will happen to him and the Jets in general.
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