Aaron Rodgers Injury: Green Bay Packers expected to decide QB’s Week 14 status later today
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) before the game against the Detroit Lions during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
The Green Bay Packers could hold Aaron Rodgers out of this week’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, because team doctors want to take a conservative approach with Rodgers’s broken collarbone and the team also doesn’t want to risk anything when it comes to the man who is essentially the savior of the franchise. Rodgers means a great deal to the Packers, and any doubts about that should have been dispelled by the Packers recent performances with him healthy. While they desperately need him to be healthy in order to have a shot of making it into the playoffs, an aggravation of his collarbone injury would be severe and probably isn’t worth risking. If the Packers lose this week against the Falcons, then they will be eliminated from the playoffs and will shut down Rodgers for the remainder of the season.
It’s a precarious situation, and I don’t envy Mike McCarthy and the Packers for being in the position of making this decision. ESPN’s Ed Werder reports that Rodgers will undergo scans on his collarbone today, as the Packers want to determine how much he has healed since suffering the injury in that fateful Week 9 game against the Chicago Bears.
Werder also reports that the Packers are expected to make a decision later today as to whether or not Rodgers will be able to play this week against the Falcons. Again, a whole lot is riding on this decision, and McCarthy will undoubtedly speak with doctors more extensively than ever before making a decision that will impact this team’s season and even Rodgers’s health and career. The Packers know they need to win out in order to even have a shot at making the playoffs, and they also know that having Rodgers back doesn’t mean guaranteed success due to issues on defense. It’s a tough decision, but we should have faith that the Packers will make the best decision overall given the information that they have. Rodgers obviously wants to play, but that might not be what is best for him and, by extension, the team.