Aaron Rodgers has been cleared to practice exactly 11 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn Achilles. 

The Jets have 21 days to decide whether to activate Rodgers from injured reserve. The period expires Dec. 20, four days before they face the Washington Commanders, which is the game he's targeting for a return.

Rodgers turns 40 on Saturday and is attempting an unprecedented comeback from Achilles surgery. 

Robert Saleh said Rodgers is cleared for functional football activity but not cleared for contact. 

On Tuesday, Rodgers told "The Pat McAfee Show" that his decision to return will be based on two factors: his health and the team's standing in the playoff race.

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a clear path to play a game in Green Bay next season, regardless of whether he returns in 2023.

In a scheduling happenstance the TV networks and fans will love, the Jets' 2024 schedule includes a road game at the NFC North team that finishes in the same place in its division, putting them on a potential collision course to play the Packers at Lambeau Field.

The Jets (4-7) are third in the AFC East, two wins behind the second-place Bills (6-5) and two wins ahead of the last-place Patriots (2-8).

Injured quarterback Aaron Rodgers is back with the New York Jets on a full-time basis, eager to return to the field, setting up a big decision that will be made in the coming weeks. For now, the Jets have made a smaller decision at quarterback.

Despite a shaky performance Friday, career backup Tim Boyle will remain the starter.

"Yeah, we're giving Timmy another shot to roll next week," coach Robert Saleh said Saturday morning on a conference call with reporters.

Aaron Rodgers has changed his thinking recently and is working toward returning to the field for the New York Jets this season regardless of the team's record, according to a report.

The Jets enter Friday's game against the Miami Dolphins at 4-6 and on the outside of the AFC playoff picture.

Rodgers recently said that he was targeting a mid-December return to the Jets after suffering a serious Achilles injury in Week 1. 

The quarterback recently sent the Jets footage of him working out and the video "blew their minds."

If New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers gets his wish, he will be back on the practice field in two weeks - only three months removed from surgery on his left Achilles.

"I've said that I'd love to be trending towards practicing by my birthday," Rodgers said Tuesday during his weekly spot on the "Pat McAfee Show," confirming a FOX Sports report.

Rodgers turns 40 on Dec. 2. It wouldn't make sense to open his 21-day practice window on a Saturday, but Dec. 6 looms as a possibility.

The New York Jets have benched Zach Wilson and will start Tim Boyle in Friday's game against the Miami Dolphins.

The Jets had planned to have Wilson serve as backup to Aaron Rodgers for a season or two before retiring to the starting position, but he struggled as the starter after Rodgers tore his Achilles. 

Under Wilson, the Jets managed only nine touchdown drives in nearly 10 full games while posting the worst red zone and third-down efficiency in modern history.

Wilson was pulled in the third quarter of the Jets' loss on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. 

The New York Jets lost Aaron Rodgers to an Achilles injury against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1. In the rematch on Sunday, the Jets suffered a quarterback calamity of a different kind.

A woefully ineffective Zach Wilson was pulled with 2:17 remaining in the third quarter of the Jets' 32-6 loss at Highmark Stadium, setting up a possible quarterback change for their game on Friday against the visiting Miami Dolphins.

Afterward, coach Robert Saleh was noncommittal on Wilson -- a first for this season -- saying he will make a decision on Monday after watching the tape of New York's third straight loss. Saleh could turn to journeyman Tim Boyle, who replaced Wilson with the Jets down 29-6. Or he could promote veteran Trevor Siemian from the practice squad.

The New York Jets' search for answers on offense will extend into the offseason, when they likely will revisit the opportunity to acquire a player they have had their eyes on since last summer.

The Jets inquired about reuniting Las Vegas Raiders Pro Bowl wide receiver Davante Adams with Aaron Rodgers before last month's trade deadline, only to be quickly rebuffed.

But the Jets might not be willing to take no for an answer, as sources around the NFL expect that New York will pursue Adams again this offseason.

"That will happen," one source told ESPN. "I think so."

If Aaron Rodgers wants to play again this season and receives medical clearance, Robert Saleh says he'll take over as quarterback of the New York Jets again.

"Aaron's a big boy, a grown man, and no one's going to know Aaron's body like Aaron knows his body," Saleh said. "And if he feels after all the doctors clear him -- I'm sure there's a million of them, I have no idea -- but if Aaron says he wants to play, he's going to play."

Saleh's comment came one day after Rodgers, attempting to pull off an unprecedented return from a ruptured Achilles, reiterated his desire to play. He's targeting mid-December, which would be about three months removed from surgery.

"We've got to be in the mix, and I've got to be healthy, and I definitely still want to come back," Rodgers said on "The Pat McAfee Show."

Aaron Rodgers says he'll be back "full time" with the New York Jets around the Thanksgiving holiday.

"I'm gonna be back there full time real soon," he said.

When asked if this was breaking news, Rodgers told Pat McAfee on his weekly appearance, "No, that's always been the plan. The plan has been, once we got to Thanksgiving, was to be back there full time." 

Rodgers didn't explicitly say, "I'll be playing in a game" around Thanksgiving. Based on he's recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in September, it is more likely "back" means in the building with the team full time and not on the field.

The future Hall of Famer recently told NBC that he is targeting mid-December to return to playing with the team in an actual game. The matchup around then would be the Dec. 17 game against the Miami Dolphins.