Mike Tomlin has said he anticipates Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers returning to the field on Sunday, and ESPN’s Dan Graziano confirmed that the team feels good about Rodgers’ chances of playing against the Buffalo Bills.
“The Steelers feel better about Aaron Rodgers’ chances of playing this Sunday against the Bills than they did at this time last week about his chances of playing in Chicago,” Graziano Wednesday wrote in his weekly news and notes column. “Talking to people with the Steelers on Saturday and Sunday, I was told the decision about Rodgers playing against the Bears would come down to his own comfort level and whether he felt he could function on the field with that fracture in his left wrist.”
He added that the Steelers are comfortable with Mason Rudolph this week if they need to start him and that the team will make a decision ahead of Sunday.
“They believe Rudolph can operate their offense if Rodgers needs another week to heal,” Graziano wrote. “But my expectation is that he does more in practice this week and that the decision doesn’t come down to game day like it did in Week 12.”
Graziano’s reporting echoes what Tomlin said yesterday about Rodgers getting more practice time and the team being more comfortable with him playing due to his expected level of participation throughout the week.
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette expressed skepticism on 93.7 The Fan this morning that Rodgers will play Sunday, and there’s a chance his injury hasn’t healed enough or that he doesn’t practice as much as the team wants to see. But most of what’s coming out of the Steelers’ facility and the national media is the notion that Rodgers will be good to go in a pivotal game against the Bills.
With the Steelers currently out of the playoff picture, they’re going to want to get Rodgers back soon. Even if he isn’t fully healed, as long as he can protect himself and manage the pain, he should be at quarterback for the Steelers on Sunday. Really, the key is how Rodgers responds with his practice time, as that’s still an unknown factor given Pittsburgh hasn’t hit the field to practice yet. But as long as Rodgers shows the medical staff and Tomlin he can manage the pain and protect himself, he should be good to go.
Recommended for you