Rodgers not A-OK after taking hit
Packers QB suffers broken collarbone, season may be over
MINNEAPOLIS — Walking gingerly to the sideline with his throwing shoulder throbbing in pain, Aaron Rodgers turned back toward the field and barked at Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr.
Rodgers likely already knew his season was in jeopardy after Barr’s hit broke his collarbone, and the fiery quarterback’s frustration boiled over.
Now the Green Bay Packers have to make sure their season as a whole doesn’t go down the drain with it.
Rodgers was knocked out of a 23-10 loss to the Vikings in the first quarter on Sunday with an injury that could cause him to miss the remainder of the season.
It’s a crushing blow to a team that entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations, optimism based primarily on the right arm of one of the game’s best quarterbacks.
“It’s devastating,” receiver Randall Cobb said. “No question about it. First and foremost, that is one of my closest friends, so to see him go down with that is tough. We still have to play football. We have a long season ahead of us to figure out what we are going to do.”
Brett Hundley, the only other quarterback on the roster outside of practice squad player Joe Callahan, was rushed into duty. He finished 18 of 33 for 157 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in the NFC North showdown.
Harrison Smith led the Minnesota defense’s thorough dismantling of the Packers. Smith had 1½ sacks on blitzes, a diving interception and two pass breakups, helping the Vikings (4-2) limit the injury-depleted Packers (4-2) to a season-low 227 yards of offense.
“Losing Aaron Rodgers speaks for itself,” Packers coach Mike Mccarthy said. “In my opinion, he’s the best player in football. This is the ultimate team game. We need to be better with the 11 people on the field that we have, regardless of the phase that we’re in. Ultimately that’s my responsibility.”
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer’s defense has always gotten after Rodgers in these tense matchups, and it happened again in the first quarter when Barr drove him into the turf after he got rid of a roll-out pass.
The impact did not appear to be that violent at first glance as Rodgers rolled through the hit. But it became apparent quickly that he was in considerable pain. He writhed on the turf as Mccarthy argued for a roughing the passer penalty.
Rodgers rode a cart to the locker room for further tests and remained there throughout the first half. He was initially deemed questionable, but the Packers announced after halftime that he would not return to the game.