Aaron Rodgers' chances of playing again this season diminishing

Pete Dougherty | USATODAY

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers' chances of playing again this season are diminishing by the week.

The Green Bay Packers quarterback said on his ESPNMilwaukee radio show Tuesday that he wasn't close to being cleared to play last week from a broken collarbone he sustained Nov. 4.

Rodgers gave no indication he's given up on playing this season, but it's looking like his odds for playing in Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys are low.

Rodgers suggested that from the start he knew his injury probably would take an extended period to heal. A team doctor for another NFL team similarly told Press-Gazette Media in late November that he likes to give mild cracks in the collarbone, which reportedly is Rodgers' injury, at least eight weeks to heal before clearing a player.

"It's a waiting game," Rodgers said on his radio show. "I was trying to push and come back before science tells you is even possible. I don't think you're seeing anybody coming back at four or five weeks from this type of injury to do some of the things I'd like to do back on the field."

Rodgers found out last week that he still had a ways to go before he'll be ready to play. He had an MRI scan last week that showed his collarbone hadn't sufficiently mended, and then in practice last Wednesday that was confirmed when he experienced pain doing rudimentary quarterback moves at full speed during individual drills.

"You shouldn't be having pain doing some of the simple movements," Rodgers said. "(Then last) Thursday I had the pads on, but I really didn't do anything. And then Friday I didn't do anything, either. So it wasn't a progression last week, I didn't get better as the week went on.

"I tried to do a lot of stuff Wednesday, didn't feel very good. From there I decreased in the stuff I did. So I wasn't getting close to playing last week. It was in my mind resting more to not try and stress it more than I had on Wednesday, and hopeful that this week I'll respond better when I stress it on Wednesday."

Rodgers, who will be six weeks removed from the injury on Sunday, said he has not had an MRI this week and wasn't sure whether a scan is required to be cleared to play, though based on last week that appears likely.

The difficulty is, Rodgers' collarbone probably won't heal fully for the rest of the season. The orthopedist for another NFL team whom Press-Gazette Media spoke to a little more than a week ago said that mild collarbone cracks induce poor blood supply and thus can be at least as slow or even slower to heal than more significant breaks.

So in deciding when or whether Rodgers should return, the Packers have to weigh the risk of re-injury versus the reward of him playing. The sooner he returns, the more likely he is to break the collarbone again, and this time it likely would be a displacement that would require surgery, carry the possibility of complications and take three months or more for recovery. That would cut significantly into Rodgers' offseason training.

Whether the Packers would take that chance even with a playoff spot on the line is the question. They're a half-game behind NFC North Division leaders Chicago and Detroit with three games left in the season.

"Try to do some of things (in practice Wednesday) I did last week without pain," Rodgers said of his plan this week. "See how my body responds to it on Thursday and go from there. Again, there's a lot of variables in this, with the scan being one of them, and the scan last week didn't show healing like we wanted it to. That with the pain I experienced at practice obviously kept me out of the game. We need a different result and different responses to get on the field this week."

Rodgers had thought earlier in the healing process that he was past the point of pain, but that was standing and throwing. The issue isn't tolerating the pain, but that the pain is a sign that he hasn't healed enough to warrant playing.

"It's different when you're moving around," he said. "You're doing quick movements, whether it's a drill where you have to play fast, you're simulating game speed, or whether you're taking snaps and giving a hand-off with your left arm, which is attached to that injury. Those are some of the things that gave me discomfort. That was kind of the clue that I'm obviously not ready. The scan, the way that scan looked, and the discomfort I had made me know I wasn't ready."

Rodgers didn't do any football work Tuesday and only lifted weights while monitored by the team's strength and conditioning staff.

Coach Mike McCarthy said Monday the Packers were preparing their game plan this week based on Matt Flynn playing quarterback. The Packers could adjust their game plan relatively quickly if Rodgers is cleared Thursday after practicing Wednesday, though those odds appear to be long.

Rodgers wouldn't comment on whether he thought the chances are growing that he won't play this season.

"Hopeful that I'm going to respond the right way," he said, "that the scan is going to look better if we're able to do one, and that I can get back out there with the guys."

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Dougherty also writes for the Green Bay Press-Gazette