One of the biggest concerns about Aaron Rodgers when the Pittsburgh Steelers signed him was whether he’d be able to last throughout the season. He turns 42 in a couple of weeks, and his body has a ton of wear and tear on it. Now, the Steelers are dealing with the reality of an injured Rodgers, who is nursing a left wrist fracture. While Rodgers is reportedly pushing to play against the Chicago Bears Sunday, it’s unclear if he’ll suit up. Former Bears linebacker Lance Briggs wants Chicago to take advantage of Rodgers’ injury if the quarterback does play against the team he used to torment while with the Green Bay Packers.
“What we do know about Rodgers is he’s frail,” Briggs said recently on CHGO Sports’ YouTube channel. “He’s gonna be extra frail if he comes into that game. One thing we’re lacking right now is pass rush. But if we can get to Rodgers, get QB hits, get some sacks, then we can get ourselves in position to actually make some plays.”
Briggs and Rodgers battled as NFC North rivals for many years. Briggs was with the Bears from 2003-2014, so he got to face Rodgers during many of his best years. Therefore, the former linebacker has plenty of experience against the four-time NFL MVP.
That includes a game in which Rodgers got injured. The quarterback broke his collarbone in Week 9 of the 2013 season against the Bears and missed the next seven weeks.
While Briggs didn’t play in that game because of an injury, he was healthy when Rodgers returned to action in the Packers’ rematch against the Bears in Week 17. He might’ve thought that Rodgers was going to be frail going into that game, too. However, that was not the case.
That matchup was for the NFC North title, and Rodgers got his revenge on the Bears. He completed 25-of-39 pass attempts for 318 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. That included throwing a 48-yard game-winning touchdown pass on fourth down with less than a minute left. Rodgers tore the Bears’ hearts out, like he often did.
Therefore, it might not be wise for Briggs to bank on Rodgers’ injury bothering him too much. While he’s older now, and he’s not the same player that he was in 2013, Rodgers has shown that he can still be that player at times.
We’ll see if he suits up in Chicago. His wrist injury shouldn’t impact his ability to throw the ball too much, but Rodgers’ safety is a real issue. The season doesn’t end this week. The Steelers will need Rodgers down the stretch, and playing this week could make his injury worse. Still, Rodgers has enjoyed plenty of excellent performances against the Bears in his career. He could have one more left in him.
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