Opinion: Packers would be wise to sit Aaron Rodgers and let Jordan Love play on Sunday
GREEN BAY, Wis. —– Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers ended his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday with this: “Can’t wait to be back on the field this week.”
He’s not alone.
Despite Rodgers' slip in popularity over his misleading statements regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, there are countless numbers who would be OK if he exited the medical arena for good and showed up in uniform at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Showing some contrition probably smoothed things over with a segment of his detractors.
But maybe everyone should just tap the brakes on him playing against Seattle this weekend.
Maybe the best thing for him and the Packers would be to show the same caution they have with left tackle David Bakhtiari in his return from ACL surgery and let Jordan Love start against the Seahawks.
It’s clear the Packers aren’t going to win a Super Bowl without Rodgers and the last thing they need is for him to be a step slow or constantly having to catch his breath because he hasn’t been playing football for almost three weeks.
Remember, the last time he took part in a game was Oct. 28 and the only other on-field work he had was a brief practice Nov. 1, two days before he tested positive. Since that time, he has been in quarantine at home and the extent of his physical activity, according to him, has been “some walking and yoga.”
If everything goes right, Rodgers will be able to return to the team’s facility Saturday. He will begin a mandatory three-day “progressive exercise protocol” this week aimed at getting his endurance back after a long layoff, but it’s not going to get him back in football shape.
All you had to do was look at receiver Davante Adams on Sunday against Kansas City to see how the combination of COVID-19 and one day of practice can render someone less than 100%. Adams, who said he also suffered symptoms during his bout of COVID-19, which began with a positive test Oct. 25 and resulted in him missing eight days, didn’t look quite as explosive or physical as normal.
Coach Matt LaFleur said after the 13-7 loss to Kansas City that Rodgers would definitely start Sunday if cleared to play, but he probably didn’t want it to seem like he would keep Rodgers on the sideline against his will. He might be figuring that the caution and care with which team physician Pat McKenzie treats players would result in him not clearing Rodgers one day after his return from COVID-19.
McKenzie stood up to Rodgers week after week in 2017 when the quarterback kept lobbying to be cleared from a broken left collarbone. McKenzie refused to give in until he was satisfied the collarbone would hold up.
He may need to step in here to keep Rodgers from endangering himself.
Whenever he talked about his return, Rodgers sounded optimistic but not certain he would start against Seattle.
“I'll just amp it up this week and do some higher physical exertion throughout the week and conditioning and hopefully, you know feel great on Saturday, go through the walkthrough and then be ready to roll,” he said.
He will go through meetings with the quarterbacks through video conferencing and should have no problem absorbing the game plan even though he has said he highly values every practice snap during weekly preparations.
Expecting him to be physically ready, however, is another thing.
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The 10-day mandatory quarantine for unvaccinated players ends Saturday for Rodgers, which means he’s free to return to the facility provided he has passed some other protocols in place to make sure that he is no longer contagious and healthy enough to take part in a football game.
We know Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 and is not vaccinated. He has admitted to both. We also know that he has had symptoms because he said so Friday on McAfee’s show and said Tuesday that “I've been obviously dealing with the COVID and I feel like I'm on the other side of it.”
Rodgers sounded like he was still a little under the weather, sniffling at times during the interview, but he also said he was feeling a lot better. The medical staff will be evaluating him for symptoms before approving his return to the building.
According to the NFL’s 99-page COVID-19 protocol document, Rodgers must pass a cardiac test to determine whether there are any complications from his illness. It is the starting point before anything else is considered.
Then, it must have been at least 24 hours since his last fever without the use of fever-reducing medications, his symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) must have improved and McKenzie must have approved his return.
He does not have to pass any COVID-19 tests. In fact, he has a 90-day “holiday” from testing because of his COVID infection, but because he is unvaccinated he still must wear a mask any time he’s in the facility and go through regular symptom assessments.
(In a memo to clubs updating its protocols, the league clarified that Rodgers and all unvaccinated players will have to wear masks during indoor news conferences. Rodgers had not been wearing a mask in those situations.)
As important as the Seattle game is – and it became a more difficult one when it was announced quarterback Russell Wilson would return this week from a finger injury – it’s not the time to take a risk with Rodgers.
The Packer have a quarterback who took all the practice snaps last week, played all the snaps in the Kansas City game and will take all the snaps in practice this week. His name is Jordan Love and the Packers have to trust that his second game will be better than his first.
Love was no match for Kansas City’s blitzing defense, completing 19 of 34 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown with an interception, but the way he moved the team in the fourth quarter was extremely promising.
He had two drives that went inside the Kansas City 25 and while one ended with an interception on third and 10, the other ended on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard on fourth and 5 with 4 minutes, 54 seconds to go. Had the defense not allowed Kansas City to run out the clock, it would have been interesting to see what Love could have done with another possession.
“I'm proud of the way that he battled,” Rodgers said. “A big touchdown to keep us in it there in the fourth and then we just couldn't get the ball back at that point. But I think there's a lot of really good things to build on. And I think that should give him confidence going forward.”
The Packers (7-2) are still in the running for home-field advantage in the NFC even though they fell a half-game behind Arizona (8-1), so they can’t afford to lose to Seattle and fall further behind. But the Cardinals smartly held out their quarterback, Kyler Murray, because of an ankle injury and might let backup Colt McCoy play again this week.
The debate here isn’t whether the Packers need to see more of Love to determine whether he can be their starter next year – he showed enough to think that another offseason in the system could be all he needs – but whether it’s worth risking Rodgers’ long-term health to play in a game the backup quarterback can probably handle.
Rodgers, and not Love, is the quarterback who can get the Packers to the Super Bowl, but LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst can’t lose sight of the big picture and that’s making sure Rodgers is under center when the playoffs begin.
The year the Packers won the Super Bowl under Mike McCarthy, Rodgers had to sit out a game against New England because of a concussion and it turned out to be the game that let them know they were Super Bowl contenders. Even though they lost, they had rallied behind Matt Flynn and nearly pulled off a giant upset in Foxboro.
They need to let Rodgers recover and Love to continue. It’s the smartest thing they can do.
Follow the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Silverstein on Twitter @TomSilverstein.