Jets QB Aaron Rodgers Refuses to Leave Lineup With Fake Injury

New York Jets starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers made his stance very clear about potentially being placed on injured reserve in the near future.

“I will not willingly go on IR without an injury,” Rodgers said on Tuesday, November 26 on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

NFL Insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic revealed in a column that according to her sources “it appears increasingly likely that the four-time MVP, who is banged up, could be placed on injured reserve or possibly benched over the next few weeks, signaling the end of his disastrous time with the Jets.”

Heading into the bye week Rodgers said he felt “good” and coming out of it he said he feels as healthy as he has been all season. Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said there has been no discussion of possibly shutting Rodgers down for the rest of the season. Rodgers emphatically said he won’t just go on IR for the sake of going on IR.

Rodgers Discusses Skipped Jets Medical Scan Accusations

On Sunday, November 24, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport shared that Rodgers has “resisted” getting medical scans “out of fear” that they will reveal the true severity of some of his injuries, which in turn would take him off the field.

However when Rodgers discussed the topic on “The Pat McAfee Show” he danced around the subject.

“When it comes to scans? First of all, I’ve played 20 years, I know my body better than anybody. Second of all, I’ve got a great relationship with the doctors on staff and we had a lot of great conversations. They diagnosed what I was dealing with and I told them how I was feeling and we talked about the possibilities of playing, rehab, and what it would take. There was no mandate ever, you’ve got to get this scan and then I was like I ain’t [expletive] getting a scan. It was how do you feel? I told them, I know how my body well. What do you see in your diagnosis? Okay, what is the risk of playing? What kind of treatment do I gotta do to get back? And that was that,” Rodgers explained.

The reporting was portrayed in a way that the doctor said Rodgers should get a medical scan, but he resisted, and then there was underlying drama. Rodgers explained that they both had an open dialogue on what was best and how to go about it.

Ulbrich Reiterates That Rogers Is His Guy Now and Moving Forward

Rodgers was already announced as the QB1 for the Week 13 Seattle Seahawks game. The Jets’ playoff hopes are barely alive.

According to the New York Times playoff simulator, they have “a less than one percent chance of making the postseason … If the Jets somehow won all of their remaining six games, that number would still only jump to 30 percent,” per Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.

Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich was asked on Wednesday, November 27 if the Jets fall out of it completely would a scenario exist where they would shut down Rodgers.

“As long as he is healthy, my plan is to play him. I know talking to him that is the way he wants to do it too. Like he is a very prideful person who wants to finish this thing off right. He wants to celebrate this team that we have and have a good taste in our mouths as we end the season,” Ulbrich explained.