NEWSLETTER
While we’re trying to move as far away from Sunday’s painful outcome as humanly possible, there’s news to report regarding Aaron Rodgers’ knee (and it could still be pretty significant moving forward). NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero shared some nuggets from Rodgers’ meeting with the media on Wednesday:
A few things from Aaron Rodgers’ media session:
– Says knee felt a little better each day
– Does he need to practice to play? “Nope.”
– Noted he’s played with left knee issues since he was 16, also had surgery at 20 and after 2015 season
– Said it’s accurate to call it a sprain— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 12, 2018
So Rodgers, by his own admission, suffered a sprained left knee in the second quarter when Roy Robertson-Harris brought him down with a sack. The injury caused him to miss 14 offensive snaps, a period during which the Bears eventually extended their lead to 17-0 (Michael: *shudders*). We all know what happened after that, but what happens next is more of a mystery.
With a quick look at the schedule, we can see that the Packers are set to host another division rival, the Minnesota Vikings, on Sunday and Rodgers’ readiness (and ability to play as close to 100%) are at least somewhat in question. Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette tweets that Rodgers will practice with the rest of the Packers players rehabbing injuries, though Head Coach Mike McCarthy wouldn’t call it a setback. And if Rodgers is going to take it day-by-day, you can expect the Vikings to prepare as if he will take the field on Sunday afternoon:
#Vikings coach Mike Zimmer on if he’s preparing for Aaron Rodgers to start for #Packers: “Yeah. He walks on water so I’m sure he’s gonna play.”
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 12, 2018
Rodgers’ injury status will be one worth keeping an eye on for the rest of the year. Green Bay doesn’t have its bye week until Week 7, but it will come after a stretch of games against Washington, Buffalo, Detroit, San Francisco, and, this Sunday, Minnesota. That means there isn’t a ton of time for Rodgers to lick his wounds. And even after the bye comes and goes, he’ll have to open up against the Rams and Patriots in the first two weeks after the break. Obviously, Rodgers still beat the Bears while playing through that injury, but there’s something to be said about how things feel on Day 1, when the adrenaline is pumping, and Day 2 after a night’s sleep.
In any case, the Bears don’t face Rodgers again until Week 15, when they play host to the Packers on December 16 at Soldier Field. Rodgers could be completely healed by then, or he could be fighting through to hold on after playing 13 games with an injured leg. In either case, the expectation is that Rodgers is going to play until he physically can’t give it a go.
