Hitting the practice field Thursday in limited fashion with a brace on his left wrist was a positive step forward for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is pushing to play in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears despite a fracture in his wrist.
It helps that Rodgers also looked “really good” in that practice session Thursday on the South Side, at least according to NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero.
Appearing on Good Morning Football Friday, Pelissero provided a bit of an update regarding Rodgers.
“He returned to practice on Thursday, officially listed as limited, as he pushes to play despite a fracture in his left wrist. Mike Tomlin has said that the keys are bracing it for the safety and comfortability of Aaron Rogers, and the second part is how functional is he? My understanding is Rodgers looked really good in practice on Thursday,” Pelissero said, according to video via NFL Network. “He has acknowledged there might be some things they have to do differently, might be more comfortable, for instance, to take snaps in the shotgun as opposed to under center. Still needs final medical clearance.
“That decision could come as soon as today.”
Rodgers suffered the injury on a second-down incompletion late in the first half of the Week 11 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium. He went down hard on his left hand and was grimacing after the play, leading to a quick timeout to regroup.
Rodgers threw one more pass — an incompletion to Roman Wilson that he wasn’t happy about — before exiting the game at halftime. Though he wanted to play in the second half, the Steelers blocked him from doing so.
Now, ahead of the matchup with the Bears in Chicago, a game that the Steelers really need a win in, Pittsburgh is keeping the light on for Rodgers to play. Head coach Mike Tomlin said that it will depend on Rodgers being able to protect himself along with how functional he can be in the brace, while offensive coordinator Arthur Smith stated that he trusts Rodgers to be able to know if he can go or not.
The soon-to-be 42-year-old quarterback said that it’s not about pain tolerance for him with the fracture in his wrist, it’s just about not making it worse. He practiced Thursday with a brace, and in the portion open to the media was seen taking all of his reps from shotgun. That could be how things play out Sunday, should he play.
But the fact that he reportedly looked “really good” Thursday in practice is encouraging. Though the Steelers have a capable backup in Mason Rudolph, Rodgers has owned the Bears throughout his career, especially in Chicago. He could give the Steelers a real boost as a passer in a game he clearly has plenty of juice for.
They’ve built the offense around him, too. He’s the best fit for the scheme at the moment and offers the Steelers the best chance to win. We’ll see if he gets cleared Friday, but things are without a doubt trending in the right direction with Rodgers’ availability for Sunday.
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