Warren Moon says Aaron Rodgers deserves a lot of credit for shutting down his comeback efforts this week ... explaining to TMZ Sports things could have turned dire for the QB if he had continued his push to get back on the field.
The Hall of Fame quarterback -- who knows a thing or two about playing into his 40s -- said on Wednesday he's glad Rodgers has decided to stop his pursuit of rejoining the Jets this season because he had a real fear the 4-time MVP could reinjure himself.
"Those Achilles injuries," Moon said, "even though the Achilles might be connected again, it still has to become much stronger."
Rodgers revealed on "The Pat McAfee" Show on Tuesday he would not get back under center for NY in 2023 despite busting his ass since he suffered the injury on Sept. 11 -- because he's just simply not 100 percent.
Aaron Rodgers Reveals He Won't Return To Jets This Season
He told McAfee his leg is close -- but he needed another 3-to-4 weeks to really feel good about things. And, with the Jets officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday, it just seemed to make sense for the 40-year-old signal-caller to put his focus on getting ready for 2024.
Moon obviously thinks that's a great plan ... telling us that even if NY had been in the postseason hunt, he still would have rather sat Rodgers.
"I still don't think he should come back if he's not 100 percent," he said.
His advice to Aaron going forward was just to stay in shape -- while making sure his team makes it a priority to surround him with a good offensive line next season.
As for the rest of the Jets -- Moon said he'd keep Robert Saleh on board ... believing the head coach deserves at least one go-around with a healthy Rodgers to prove his mettle.