The scene, more than anything, captured a glimmer of hope. A rare one in the context of this disastrous Jets season, too.
There, as practice began Wednesday, was Aaron Rodgers, actually on the field.
There was his red No. 8 jersey, just like in September. He zipped passes to receivers.
Walked around. Even jogged a little. Hugged offensive tackle Mekhi Becton.
The Jets opened Rodgers’ 21-day window, and he practiced for the first time since tearing his Achilles in the season opener.
They’ll approach the next three weeks cautiously, not necessarily ramping up Rodgers for a return the way they would for other injured players.
Head coach Robert Saleh said this reflects the next stage of his rehab process, just with the option to throw to receivers at practice as opposed to another staffer on a side field.
Rodgers posted on Instagram a picture of himself on the Florham Park, N.J., field with a caption that read: “Been a long 77 days. Good to be back on the field with the guys.”
It doesn’t mean Rodgers will return by Dec. 24 — a reported target — against the Commanders.
It doesn’t mean he’ll return at all this season.
He could get activated and not play, as the Jets did with left tackle Duane Brown, to provide more recovery time.
If they don’t activate Rodgers within 21 days, he can’t return this year.
But less than three months after his Achilles tear, Rodgers took another step toward an unprecedented late-season return — something he remained adamant about since the initial diagnosis, even if medical timelines suggested otherwise — and added some validity to the Jets’ long-shot dreams of the past three months: If they remain in postseason contention, Rodgers might be waiting for them after all.
“This is more progression in his rehab,” Saleh said. “If we get to that 21-day window and he’s feeling great, we’ll have that discussion then, but right now, it’s just a matter of him progressing in his rehab.”
Everyone within the organization — including GM Joe Douglas and owner Woody Johnson — are on the same page about Rodgers’ attempted return, Saleh said.
They understand there’s risk involved.
There could be a setback.
Another injury.
It could have ramifications, depending on the severity, for both this season and in 2024.
But Saleh reiterated his trust in Rodgers, too.
The organization remains under the impression that Rodgers, who didn’t speak with reporters Wednesday but did post a picture of himself with a heartfelt caption on the Florham Park, N.J., field, will return in 2024, which aligned with the 39-year-old’s offseason comment — before he knew that he’d log just four snaps — about viewing his Jets tenure as more than a one-year partnership.
“I promise, Aaron is not going to do anything that puts himself in harm’s way,” Saleh said. “If he is not healthy to play, Aaron is very, very smart. That’s not something he’s going to put himself at risk for.”
The entire process has been calculated.
His pregame throwing workout Nov. 6.
His on-field cameos and entrances into the locker room.
Even the comments in his weekly interviews with Pat McAfee, where Rodgers described the daring return in terms of fortnights and challenged critics to fuel him by predicting otherwise.
Experts did that.
The history for Achilles recoveries did, too.
Cam Akers’ path back with the Rams — five months for a return — had previously served as the benchmark, but Rodgers has the potential to shatter it.
“Professional athletes are exceptional human beings who do things the rest of us can’t do,” Dr. John Kennedy, NYU Langone’s chief of the foot and ankle division, told The Post’s Mark Cannizzaro in October, “and maybe he will. And if he does then we’re all wrong and it’ll be fantastic for the Jets and for Aaron.
“But if it all goes horribly wrong, that would be the risk that most of us [doctors] would say he would take if he came back in that kind of accelerated time, 14 weeks. That’s a very, very short time.”
Rodgers’ presence at practice turns the next three games into perhaps the Jets’ most pivotal 60-minute windows of the season. They’re 4-7 and sit 15th in the AFC. They’ve changed just about everything on offense, and nothing has worked.
During his Tuesday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers repeated that the first variable in his return revolves around health.
The second centers around the Jets’ postseason positioning, pushing back on a Fox Sports report that stated otherwise.
His return, as simple and expedited as it seems, remains complicated. He’s only cleared for individuals and the “routes on air” segment in practice — “that’s about it,” Saleh said.
“He’s been cleared for functional football activity,” Saleh said. “He’s not cleared to fully play football.”
Still, it provided a sense of normalcy for a spiraling team in a search of any continuity. “Science rules,” wideout Allen Lazard joked.
If nothing else, the Jets have another reason to keep dreaming — about Rodgers, about his healing Achilles, about their waning playoff percentages somehow improving — for another few weeks.
