GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Despite a bleak playoff picture, Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy left the door open for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to play against the Minnesota Vikings this weekend.
“Aaron Rodgers is sore, rightfully so,” McCarthy said Monday night, one day after Rodgers’ return from a fractured right collarbone wasn’t enough in the Packers’ 31-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers. “He was hit too many times, took two big hits. So we’re working through that. So we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Of course, McCarthy made the comments before Monday night’s game between the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked off — a game that, if the Falcons won it, would eliminate the Packers from playoff contention and mark the end of the team’s eight-year run of consecutive postseason berths.