Aaron Rodgers says he would approach conversation of change to Jordan Love with ‘open mind’
Rodgers said his desire is to win the final five games, which might keep open the opportunity to sneak into a NFC playoff seed, however unlikely.
Short of that, Rodgers said, he understands the Packers might want to see more of their 2020 first-round pick.
“Look, I’d love to finish the season out,” Rodgers said, “but I understand this is a business and there’s a lot of us kind of older guys who play a decent amount, and they might want to see some younger guys play. Hopefully we don’t have to have that conversation, but if that conversation comes up, I’ll approach it with an open mind without any bitterness or resentment. Obviously, like I said, I want to win out, and then we don’t have to have those conversations.
“But I understand if we don’t, that it’s a possibility to have that conversation.”
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Love played his most significant snaps this season Sunday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, completing 6-of-9 passes for 113 yards, one touchdown and a 146.8 rating. It was by far his best showing as a pro, significant improvement from his lone career start last season at Kansas City.
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Rodgers has no doubt he’ll be able to play Sunday.
While he did not practice Wednesday, he said his ribs feel much better than he could have expected exiting in the fourth quarter at Philadelphia. Rodgers’ initial concern was internal organ damage, he said. When scans of his ribs came back positive, it was all the information he needed to start planning to play this week.
In the team’s training facility, Rodgers said, he threw footballs. He did some rehab in the team’s pool and said his ribs felt good. Rodgers said he “probably” will wear extra padding Sunday to protect his ribs, something he hasn’t done since college.
“Not sure I want to start now,” Rodgers said, “but I’ll probably have something covering up.”
Rodgers said he doesn’t need to practice this week to play Sunday. He’s played in games without a week of practice before, the most recent last season against the Seattle Seahawks, when he was unable to be around the team all week leading up to the game after contracting COVID-19. The Packers won that game 17-0.