GREEN BAY, Wis. — While the feeling in the Green Bay Packers‘ locker room is that quarterback Aaron Rodgers will try to play Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings despite his ailing left knee, the team isn’t ready to say that just yet.
Rodgers won’t practice again on Thursday but will try to do more in the rehab portion of his work than he did on Wednesday, according to coach Mike McCarthy.
“This is no layup,” McCarthy said Thursday morning. “That’s why it’s a day-to-day situation.”
Rodgers said Wednesday that he would have no issue playing Sunday without any practice reps this week.
“The vibe feels like he’s going to try [to play],” one Packers player told ESPN.com.
Rodgers has been going through his normal week of off-the-field preparation while backups DeShone Kizer and Tim Boyle have taken the actual snaps in practice.
“You’ve got two types of environments to prepare you for games — you’ve got the classroom environment, and you have obviously the practice environment,” McCarthy said. “So with him in the rehab group, he’s full bore ahead in the classroom and all the different meetings. Today’s a very heavy situational day, so that’s where his involvement is.”
Rodgers revealed on Wednesday that he has a “sprained” knee, although he would not provide any further details about the injury. He missed the final three series in the first half of Sunday’s season opener against the Bears after defensive end Ray Robertson-Harris fell on his left knee as he sacked Rodgers.
After being carted to the locker room, Rodgers returned in the second half to rally the Packers from a 20-0 deficit to a 24-23 win, matching the largest comeback of Rodgers’ NFL career.
“We had a great conversation at halftime Sunday night and came to the conclusion that I could go back out there if I could deal with the pain,” Rodgers said Wednesday.
He said the pain and swelling increased after the game.
“You hate that you’re dealing with something like this in the first week, but you feel similar to this Week 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,” Rodgers said. “If you’re fortunate to stay healthy the entire season you’re going to get banged up at some point. Obviously, I’ve dealt with foot injuries, calf injuries, hamstring, you know, lower extremities and played with it, so hopefully, I’ll be able to be back out there Sunday.”