Aaron Rodgers ready for the game against the Bills
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, is confirmed to play on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. This marks his return after the fracture in his left wrist that kept him out of the game against the Chicago Bears last week. Coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Rodgers fully participated in Friday’s practice, indicating that he is fully recovered for the game. “He was fully present today without any restrictions for the game,” said coach Mike Tomlin. Rodgers suffered the injury in the second quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Although he participated in a limited way in some practices before the game against the Bears, he ultimately did not play. This week, after missing Wednesday’s practice, he participated fully on Thursday and Friday. In addition to Rodgers, wide receiver DK Metcalf (ankle) and pass rusher Alex Highsmith (pectoral) are also set to play.Tomlin also announced that offensive line backup Andrus Peat will replace Broderick Jones, who is out this week due to a neck injury suffered in Chicago. Rodgers has been practicing with a black wrist stabilizer. He was seen during Friday’s practice palpating the ball with his left hand before throwing a pass with his right.“It feels great to know I’m back,” Highsmith said.
Alex Highsmith
Last week, Rodgers said the key to his physical condition was less comfort and more his ability to protect himself.“I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’m sure it doesn’t feel good,” right tackle Troy Fautanu said. “But for him to want to come back and finish this season and play this game is a testament to who he is.”
Troy Fautanu
Rodgers previously said he felt more comfortable receiving snaps from the shotgun formation and did not do any individual work last week from under center. Although Tomlin said Friday that Rodgers could take snaps under center this week, Rodgers said earlier in the week that he still didn’t feel comfortable doing it. “Not today,” the quarterback said on Wednesday. “We’ll see later in the week.” Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said he’s prepared to “troubleshoot” if Rodgers is limited in his ability to take snaps from under center this week. “It’s going to be day-to-day with Aaron,” Smith said. “Those things are communications. He’s a veteran, just like last week and we’ll see how the week goes. Again, those are other things you can solve. There are many ways to do it. You work with the guys. … If a guy needs help and protection, he can have a chipped wing or something like that, he’s out there, depending on the matchup, there are always things you can do to try to help the players if they’re playing and there’s something you’re trying to work with.”“With the cast, there are limitations for sure,” Rodgers said this week, “but that’s for safety.”
Aaron Rodgers
