Players typically recharge mentally and physically over the bye week and Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said he thinks the latter was beneficial for Jets QB Aaron Rodgers.
"He's doing better than he has for quite a while," Ulbrich said of his signal-caller. "I would say after my conversation with him the last five or six weeks, he has felt healthier today [Wednesday] than he's felt in that that time span. Super excited about getting him going, whether it's the keepers, the boots, a little bit more quarterback movement taking advantage of the stuff that he's done at a Hall of Fame level his entire career. Excited to see a healthier version of Aaron out there."
Rodgers has been battling ankle, hamstring and knee injuries since Week 5. He has mostly been limited or does not practice Wednesday before either being limited or fully practicing Thursday. He has practiced fully every Friday. Ulbrich said if the four-time NFL MVP is healthy, he'll start the remaining six games.
"I know talking to him, that's the way he wants to do it too," Ulbrich said. "He is a very prideful person. He 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 as we leave the season."
Captain C.J. Mosley is also getting healthier. Mosley, who has not played since Week 8 at New England because of a neck injury and has received a pair of injections to improve mobility, will practice Wednesday doing some light tackling drills over the bye week.
"He'll practice [Wednesday] full and then [Thursday] will be the big test," Ulbrich said. "Get pads on him, get him to contact and see how he responds with that. And if things go well, which I'm hopeful they will, he'll go. If not, he won't.
"He's just a guy that's he's so unique in his ability to lead and elevate those around him. He brings not just leadership, but this confidence and poise and toughness that it's hard to replicate. He's a special player, he's a special man and he's hard to replace."
Rodgers and Mosley may be on the mend, but that's not the case for everyone. Running back Breece Hall, after accounting for 121 scrimmage yards and 2 touchdowns against the Colts in Week 11, will not practice Wednesday.
"He got nicked in the game with his knee, finished the game and finished well, had some soreness last week and had a little bit of soreness [Tuesday]," Ulbrich said. "We're just going to protect him from himself a little bit, but we'll see how the week goes along. Still hopeful that he's going to play for us, but we'll see."
If Hall does not play against Seattle, which is allowing 130.5 rushing yards per game (No. 23 in NFL), rookie Braelon Allen would likely start. Allen has 229 rushing yards and 3 total touchdowns this season. The other backs on the Green & White's roster are rookie Isaiah Davis, second-year player Israel Abanikanda and Zonovan Knight, who was signed to the practice squad Tuesday.
CB Qwan'tez Stiggers (personal), Malachi Corley (illness) and Tyron Smith (neck) also will not practice. Ulbrich said Smith, who did not play in Week 11 against the Colts, is emerging as a candidate to be placed on injured reserve.
"Just not enough improvement at this point," he said. "It's really become apparent that we might have to do what's best for Tyron in that way, but still collecting information. He's back and forth [geographically], he's getting stuff done. He's got the best doctors on earth working with him."
