Aaron Rodgers maintained throughout the past few months that he was going to attempt to beat every traditional recovery timeline for his torn Achilles and return to the New York Jets this season.
It never seemed realistic, especially as the Jets' season fell apart and they eventually were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. And despite Rodgers' public proclamations of his comeback aspirations, ESPN's Tim Keown reported Thursday that Rodgers' own teammates didn't particularly believe he'd be able to return:
"While the public and the Jets' front office might have bobbed along with the ebbs and flows of Rodgers' weekly teases—the hope for a Rodgers' return might have kept the team from pursuing a non-Zach Wilson/Tim Boyle/Trevor Siemian/Brett Rypien option at quarterback—the tone in the locker room was more subdued.