Aaron Rodgers Blames Vaccine Views For IR Decision Criticism

Aaron Rodgers claims the New York Jets "overruled" his request to be placed injured reserve and believes he's received criticism solely because of his COVID-19 vaccination views.

Rodgers was recently activated by the Jets despite officially being ruled out for the remainder of the 2023 season due to an Achilles injury he suffered four plays into his debut. New York was then forced to cut popular fullback Nick Bawden in order to make room for Rodgers in adherence with league rules, though Bawden was ultimately signed back to the practice squad.

“I assumed I was gonna go on IR. I asked to be put on IR,” Rodgers said during his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “There was a conversation ‘do you want to practice,’ and I said ‘not at the expense of somebody getting cut.’ I know how this works. I didn’t feel like I needed to practice to continue my rehab. I could do on-the-field stuff on the side.

“But obviously I got overruled there, maybe it is what it is. That was an interesting situation. I called Nick right away, just said ‘I hope you know this isn’t coming from me. I asked them to put me on IR.'”

Rodgers then went on to claim that the criticism he's recently received was coming from the same people who had previously criticized his vaccination status.

“Before they talk, let’s go back to 2021 and let’s make people say their vax status to start,” Rodgers said. “That’ll frame all these comments in the right window. Before they say something, let’s have them say, and ESPN is probably going to shut us off here, let’s have them say ‘hey, I’m so-and-so, double vaxxed with Pfizer and triple boosted, and my opinion is this guy is a bad guy because he just wanted to practice and took money away.’

“At least then you’d know, and everybody would know at that point, they have their puppet masters who are puppeteering them to say this certain thing about this guy, and they’re still upset about the fact that I believe in medical freedom. It’s the same tired narrative.”

Rodgers' 21-day practice window was opened on November 29, one day after he walked back his prediction of an early return from an Achilles injury during his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. The 40-year-old reportedly ran some bootleg plays and jogged, showing remarkable progress in his recovery from what is typically a season-ending injury on December 14.

Last month, Rodgers said he was aiming for a mid-December return while speaking to NBC Sports' Melissa Stark during the Jets' 'Sunday Night Football' loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11.

“He said, ‘I know it sounds insane, but you do a good surgery, you have a good patient, it makes this possible,’” Stark said on the telecast via NBC News, noting that Rodgers said he "just wasn't feeling it" when he decided not to throw passes during pregame warmups, as he'd done in the past few weeks.

Rodgers said he's been working on a weight-limiting treadmill during his rehabilitation which included jogging at 50% of his body weight and intends to increase it to 75% at the time. Head coach Robert Saleh said, "if the doctors clear him, we'll clear him," when asked about Rodgers' status during his postgame press conference.

Rodgers had previously told Stark that "his goal is to play again this season" during the Jets' loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in October. Last month, Rodgers admitted that telling Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. that he would be back in "a few weeks" is' "probably not anywhere near a realistic timeline."

“It’d be nice to be able to get back in a couple weeks,” Rodgers said during an earlier appearance on 'the Pat McAfee Show' on November 7. “That’s probably not anywhere near a realistic timeline. … It’s more of a phrase that didn’t have a specific timetable.”

A clip shared by ESPN's Adam Schefter hours before his appearance on McAfee's show showed Rodgers embracing James after the Jets' 27-6 loss to the Chargers on November 6 and saying he was "a few weeks" away from playing again, despite the projected season-ending injury, when James asked about his recovery.