Aaron Rodgers to work with rehab group at practice, status is day by day

Because we saw Aaron Rodgers play one of the most memorable halves of football in his career last Sunday, we assume he’ll play again this week. Rodgers himself said after the game he’d play in Week 2.

While that’s probably what will happen, the Packers aren’t pushing Rodgers and his injured knee in practice. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Rodgers would work with the group of rehabbing players in practice on Wednesday instead of practicing with the team.

“We’ll see what tomorrow brings,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said Rodgers is day by day. What adds to the drama is that the Packers play the Minnesota Vikings, who are considered the co-favorites to win the NFC North along with Green Bay. McCarthy wouldn’t commit fully to Rodgers being on the field Sunday.

“Obviously there’s the hope of playing,” McCarthy said. “He’ll be given the whole week to get ready. We’ll take it day by day and learn as we go.”

The Vikings are clearly expecting Rodgers to play, with a great quote from their coach Mike Zimmer:

Aaron Rodgers’ mobility probably won’t be back to normal

The Packers have to be a little nervous about Rodgers playing on Sunday. He was injured enough that he told the Packers he couldn’t line up under center last Sunday night; they’d have to go shotgun or pistol formations to accommodate his lack of mobility.

Rodgers was favoring his injured leg during the game. While it helps to get a week to rest, it’s unlikely Rodgers will be fully healthy by the time Sunday’s game kicks off. That’s a big concern against the Vikings, who have one of the best defenses in football with a great pass rush.

The Packers can’t just sit Rodgers if he feels well enough to play, especially considering it’s a big divisional game. But there should be some nerves about it.

According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Rodgers said he had a sprained knee and didn’t take pain medications on Sunday because he doesn’t like them.

“There was a lot of adrenaline,” Rodgers said, according to Demovsky, “and (it’s) pretty sore the last three days.”

A big game for Rodgers, Packers

Of course, this could all be setting up another memorable chapter of Rodgers’ career. If he can play through an injury against one of the NFL’s greatest defenses and deliver a win that will set the tone in the NFC North race, it might not be as famous as his second-half comeback against the Bears but it will be impressive.

Presumably Rodgers will play. It wouldn’t be ideal for him to miss a full week of practice before playing, but Rodgers could handle it. We’ll wait for the Packers to offer more updates on his status as the week goes on.

Even if the Packers say Rodgers will be playing, that will only be the start of this week’s story.

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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