For the Packers and Aaron Rodgers, it is a risk vs. reward issue.

That’s what football is – risk vs. reward.


Pass or run? Go for it or kick? Dive for the first down or slide?

Medical decisions on a daily basis are no different.

The reward of having a quarterback who is among the best playmakers in the NFL is obvious.


So what is the risk?

Rodgers could suffer a break at the fracture site or the screws could pull out. The plates he had inserted during surgery in October are metal and unlikely to break, no matter how hard he is hit or slammed to the ground. And he was double-plated. The most likely break would come at the end of the plates, though even that possibility is remote.

If he did suffer another break, it would almost certainly not be a career-threatening injury. There is always a small risk every time a player steps on a football field that a career will be ended, just like every time you get in a car there is a risk you could get in a fatal accident.


If there was a re-fracture, Rodgers would go through the pain and hassle of another surgery, this time with a longer recovery. But he would certainly recover in 4-6 months and be essentially guaranteed to be ready for training camp, if not before. I have no doubt he would be able to play next season. In my 17 years in the NFL, I never heard of a clavicle fracture or re-fracture that ended a career.

The fact is, there is no way for Rodgers clavicle to be 100 percent healed eight weeks after surgery. Full healing won’t occur for at least six months.

If the question were simply what is best for his clavicle, he should not play football this year. Or next. Or ever.


If the question is whether it is safe enough to play now, then the answer will be found in the CT scan Rodgers reportedly had on Monday.

If he is at 80 percent healed with the additional strength provided by the two plates inserted during surgery, it is safe enough for him to return.

If the Packers don’t clear him to play this week, don’t expect him until Week 17. It is unusual to repeat a CT scan one week apart, as healing is not that dramatic. He won’t go from 60 percent to 80 percent in seven days.


The Packers doctors are historically careful with their players, and that is not a bad thing.

I am sure they will make the correct decision after weighing the risk and the reward.