New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is recovering from a torn Achilles and medically cannot play in the NFL this season, was activated from injured reserve for no apparent reason whatsoever on Wednesday.
In what’s become one of the silliest ongoing sagas of the season, Rodgers has been adamant that he can pull off the scientifically improbable and actually recover from an Achilles tear in-season. He finally admitted this week he won’t be back, but not without months of messaging the opposite.
Anyone with a vague understanding of the human body and its healing process would tell you that’s a bit rich, but Rodgers kept hopes alive to make sure we would all continue to reluctantly pay attention to him through his recovery.
There was no chance in Meadowlands that Rodgers could play again this season unless he wanted to, more likely than not, injure himself again.
However, the Jets activating Rodgers off IR for no actual playing time came with a cost: fullback Nick Bawden was waived as part of the transaction.
We have activated QB Aaron Rodgers.
We have released FB Nick Bawden.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) December 20, 2023
Again, Rodgers will not play football on an NFL field this season, and Bawden is now out of a job unless he gets claimed off waivers or signs with the Jets practice squad (which would involve someone else getting let go unless they go on practice squad injured reserve).
NFL fans lamented poor Bawden being the odd man out in this very odd activation for an attention-seeking player who will basically do the same things he was already doing before he was activated off of IR.