Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will start Sunday's winner-take-all NFC North title game against the Chicago Bears.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy made the announcement Thursday, ending week's of speculation about the timetable for the 2011 NFL MVP's return.
It will be Rodgers' first game since breaking his collarbone in the first quarter of a Nov. 4 loss to the Bears.
"It's time for Aaron to play," McCarthy said.
McCarthy told players that Rodgers would start during a team meeting Thursday morning, and Rodgers participated fully in practice.
"I'm excited. I feel good for Aaron. I don't think people understand the stress that he's been under," McCarthy said.
"We were holding him out of the game, and that's tough. That's a tough thing to go through, especially at this extent. Especially with Aaron Rodgers, we're talking about the best player in football. Yeah, I feel good about it." PHOTOS: Week 17 games ranked by watchability
Though the Packers went 2-5-1 in the eight games without Rodgers - Seneca Wallace, Scott Tolzien and Matt Flynn all filled in under center, though only Flynn managed to preside over victories - stumbles by the Bears and Detroit Lions allowed Green Bay to remain alive in the NFC North. The winner of Sunday's game at Soldier Field will win the division and host a playoff game Jan. 4 or 5 while the other team will be eliminated.
Rodgers returned to practice four weeks ago and had little trouble throwing. But concerns about how his collarbone could sustain hits in a game contributed to decisions to keep him sidelined.
"Aaron has accepted the level of risk for the third week. This has been a stressful period for him," McCarthy said. "It's time to play football."
*** Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones VIDEO: Latest NFL power rankings
No comments:
Post a Comment