NFL insider reveals update on Aaron Rodgers thumb injury, and it’s Big Yikes
By Josh Hill
It turns out that the thumb injury suffered by Aaron Rodgers is even worse than initially feared, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
Things just keep getting worse for the Green Bay Packers this season.
A season that was supposed to silence all doubters has instead given them more than enough to yell about. Green Bay is on the outside of the playoff picture heading into the final stretch of the season and need a lot of help to get back into the race. The Packers front office electing to not get Aaron Rodgers top receiving help in either the draft or free agency has seemingly caught up with them — Christian Watson flourishes aside — and the offense has been a shell of itself all season long.
One of the main reasons for the struggle has been the play of Aaron Rodgers, who has looked anything but the back-to-back MVP he was the previous two seasons. But as much as folks love to pile on Rodgers, it seems there’s a pretty good excuse for why he’s played so horribly.
Earlier this season it was speculated and then reported that Rodgers was battling a thumbs injury. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport went a step further head of Week 12 to say that the injury is even worse than initially feared.
Aaron Rodgers injury is worse than initially feared
“Rodgers’ injury, suffered during a 27-22 loss to the Giants in London on Oct. 9, is actually an avulsion fracture of the thumb, sources say. It is serious enough that surgery is almost always the answer to fix this type of injury, according to people with knowledge of Rodgers’ fracture,” Rapoport reported on Sunday morning.
Furthermore, Rapoport notes that if Rodgers’ thumb still isn’t healed this long after suffering the injury, then surgery is almost the only way to correct things. The Packers haven’t said hinted at taking Rodgers out of the lineup the get surgery and the quarterback himself has downplayed the severity of it since it has become a talking point.
Green Bay’s season is already teetering on the brink of total collapse, and a loss in Philadelphia on Sunday night would pretty much seal the deal. If that happens, and the Packers drop to 4-8 — putting them a full four games behind the No. 7 seed — perhaps the conversation to shut Rodgers down will begin.
There’s obviously no pride in throwing the towel in on the season, but the Packers improving their draft position and getting Rodgers more than a full offseason of rest to potentially go on a revenge tour for the ages in 2023 might be the best move they’ll make all season.