Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t practice Wednesday after sustaining a knee injury late in the second quarter on Christmas Day against the Dolphins, but he said he’s not concerned about his availability for Sunday’s pivotal tilt with the Vikings at Lambeau Field.
Rodgers suffered the injury when he was sacked by safety Eric Rowe and defensive lineman Christian Wilkins landed on top of Rodgers with a little more than four minutes remaining until halftime. The Packers trailed 20-10 at the time and went three-and-out on the drive before erasing the double-digit deficit in a 26-20 win.
“I got a lot of body weight on my knee,” Rodgers said of the play. “Had some extra flexion I haven’t known for the last 20 years, so (I’ve) just been doing rehab the last few days and feeling a lot better.
“No, it didn’t,” Rodgers added when asked if the knee gave him trouble in the game. “No, I mean, you saw me running around there a little bit. It felt good. But once I got on the plane, I realized that there was some fluid starting to accumulate. So (I) just took it easy, as easy as I want to on Monday and Tuesday, and then today, (I’m) just being smart with it.”
Rodgers worked with director of rehab Nate Weir for the first half of Wednesday’s practice inside Lambeau Field before going across the street to watch the second half of practice. He called Wednesday “a nice little veteran day for me” and said he thinks he’ll be back at practice Thursday.
This season, Rodgers has dealt with a broken right thumb suffered on his Hail Mary attempt against the Giants in Week 5, a ribs injury suffered against the Eagles in Week 12 and now a knee ailment.
Is this the most banged-up he’s been in his career, excluding seasons in which he suffered major injuries?
“There’s been some years with concussions and other injuries that might not have put me on the injury report every week,” Rodgers said. “There were a couple of years, ’19 and ’20 — well, ’20, I guess — where I felt pretty great. I didn’t miss a practice, wasn’t on the injury list all season. That was a nice year. But those are the outlier years. Usually, this is how it goes. You’re dealing with something throughout the year, whether it’s a major or minor, always got to do the body maintenance. But it’s a good opportunity for J (quarterback Jordan Love) to practice and get his reps in, and it’s a good opportunity for me to get some rest. They do it for Big Dog (tight end Marcedes Lewis). Big Dog takes most Thursdays off. It helps his body. I’m not necessarily asking for that. I like to go out there and practice, but it’s nice to get a day off like today.”
Aaron Rodgers says he’s feeling “a lot better” after injuring his knee Sunday vs. the Dolphins.
Has no concern for his availability for this Sunday vs. Vikings and plans to practice tomorrow and Friday. pic.twitter.com/p8Yyrx4N5q
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) December 28, 2022
Also not practicing Wednesday were wide receiver Christian Watson, who left Sunday’s game with a hip injury and didn’t return, and Keisean Nixon, Green Bay’s star kick returner and nickel corner who sustained a groin injury in Miami and didn’t return. Both were present at practice and stayed inside the Don Hutson Center while the rest of the team went outside during the media viewing window.
Watson has become Green Bay’s No. 1 wide receiver and the team’s most potent deep threat. Nixon, after returning only one kick in the season’s first seven games, leads the NFL in total kick return yards and yards per kick return.
In positive injury news for the Packers, left tackle David Bakhtiari returned to practice (in a limited capacity) for the first time since undergoing an appendectomy about a month ago. After leaving Sunday’s game and not returning because of a shoulder injury, right tackle Yosh Nijman practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday. Running back Aaron Jones also practiced in a limited capacity and was listed on the injury report with knee and ankle ailments.
Rodgers praised Nijman and Jones, who have been crucial to the team’s success this season.
Of Jones, he said: “It goes to the adage that there’s a difference between being hurt and injured — and there’s a lot of guys that are hurt. Most of us are dealing with something, and for him to consistently want to be out there week after week and put himself in a position to play is pretty impressive. I think the most impressive was the L.A. game (in Week 15) when he got banged up and I didn’t think he was gonna come back in the game, and then AJ (Dillon) got banged up and here’s 33 trotting back out. That’s the kind of toughness that he has, but we don’t discard that. We just have an increased amount of respect for him and the way he goes about his business, and you wish that there were more guys like that.”
Of Nijman, Rodgers added: “I’m proud of Yosh. Yosh has been a pretty consistent player for us. I like his approach. I like his demeanor. … Yosh, I thought there were stretches when he was playing left tackle where he played really, really, really well. And it’s tough to make a switch. Your entire footwork is different going from the left side to the right side. Your punch is different. Your stance is different. And I give him a lot of credit for the growth that he’s shown on that side.”
Success in the playoffs is about peaking at the right time.
These 5 NFL units are trending up: Bills’ run game, Ravens’ defense, Packers special teams, Vikings and Cowboys passing games. https://t.co/CGyuMm7ywI
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) December 28, 2022
The Packers welcome the NFC North-champion Vikings to town Sunday for a game Minnesota needs in its pursuit of the No. 2 seed and Green Bay needs to keep its playoff hopes alive.
The Packers’ most likely path to a postseason berth is for the Commanders to lose one of their two remaining games — they host the Browns and Cowboys — and for the Packers to beat both the Vikings and Lions at home. The Packers would also get in the seven-team field by winning out if the Giants lose against the Colts and at the Eagles, even if the Commanders win their two remaining games. Green Bay also wouldn’t mind if the Saints beat the Eagles (as long as the Colts beat the Giants) because that would increase the likelihood the Eagles play to win against the Giants in Week 18 to secure the No. 1 seed.
It’s possible that by the time Green Bay and Minnesota kick off at 3:25 p.m. CT on Sunday, the Packers could control their own destiny to make the playoffs since the Browns and Commanders play at noon CT.
“We have to pull for the Colts and the Browns this week and, shoot, maybe even the Saints,” Rodgers said. “There’s a lot of things that could go into that, but we’ll focus on beating Minnesota and taking care of our business. Whatever else happens outside of that, obviously we’re hoping for good results for us that help us. It’d be great to go into the last game of the year controlling our destiny, and we know for that to happen, we need a Browns win and a Packers win.”
(Photo: Eric Espada / Getty Images)
