Aaron Rodgers placed on IR, season is over
With their playoff hopes officially dashed, the Green Bay Packers have placed Aaron Rodgers on season-ending IR.
With a playoff spot still in play, Aaron Rodgers returned for the Green Bay Packers this past Sunday. A loss to the Carolina Panthers put that chance at the playoffs on the ropes, and the Atlanta Falcons’ victory Monday night officially knocked the Packers out of the playoff mix in the NFC.
The Packers will take on the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday night, with the chance to help play spoiler to their rival’s playoff seed. Rodgers also suffered his fractured collarbone against the Vikings back in Week 6, so on a personal level he surely wants to play.
But with nothing for the team to gain, and only the risk of re-injury for Rodgers, the Packers have ended his season by placing him on IR.
The #Packers placed QB Aaron Rodgers on Injured Reserve. His season is over.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/packers/status/943224437255655427
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Monday’s initial report of the Packers being set to re-sign quarterback Joe Callahan was a sure sign of the plan to deactivate Rodgers this week. Callahan had been released to make room for Rodgers on the 53-man roster ahead of last Sunday’s game, so the opposite move will bring him back as Brett Hundley’s backup for the final two games of the season.
Rodgers will be back healthy in plenty of time for next season, and ready to re-assume a spot among the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. But the Packers can now get another look at Hundley, as he makes his eighth and ninth starts of the season in Week 16 against the Vikings and Week 17 against the Lions.