Getty Aaron Rodgers missed the first practice of Week 6 with a thumb injury.
Aaron Rodgers will not be participating in the Green Bay Packers’ first practice of Week 6 as he continues to nurse a thumb injury, but head coach Matt LaFleur isn’t concerned about his star quarterback’s status against the New York Jets.
“He’s not going to practice today, but I don’t think we have much concern as far as game day,” LaFleur told reporters on October 12.
Rodgers revealed in his October 11 appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that he sustained a thumb injury on his throwing hand on the final play of the Packers’ loss to the New York Giants in London. The four-time NFL MVP had been strip-sacked while trying to find an open man downfield on a desperation play in the waning seconds and said his thumb was “a little banged-up” coming out of the 27-22 loss.
Much like LaFleur, though, Rodgers downplayed concerns about the injury potentially impacting his availability or performance moving forward and said he believes he will still “be able to spin it” in the upcoming week against the Jets. He added he is hopeful that “it’ll feel better later in the week.”
Rodgers Can Play Without Practice If Necessary
The Packers holding out Rodgers from Wednesday’s practice is an understandable cautionary measure. He is the back-to-back league MVP and the most indispensable member of their football team, which means it would be downright irresponsible of the Packers to put him at risk of greater injury for the sake of practice reps.
Fortunately, the Packers are well acquainted with the fact that Rodgers can suit up and perform at a high level with little-to-no practice in a week. Just last season, Rodgers missed 10 days on the reserve/COVID-19 list and was activated just one day before the Packers took on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10. Not only did Rodgers start the game, but he also completed 23 of his 37 passes for 292 yards — playing on an injured toe, no less — to help them secure a 17-0 victory.
Rodgers could still practice to some degree for the Packers this week, but it has to be nice for them to know that they could continue to play it safe without sacrificing much.
Christian Watson Misses Practice, Devonte Wyatt Returns
Rodgers wasn’t the only player not practicing in Wednesday’s first rehearsal for the Jets. According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, the Packers were also without second-round rookie wide receiver Christian Watson (hamstring) and outside linebacker Tipa Galeai (currently unknown). Watson had dropped out of Week 5’s loss to the Giants due to an issue with his hamstring and could now be in line to miss his second game in six weeks.
On the bright side, the Packers saw another one of their rookies — first-round defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt — return to practice after missing last week’s game in London. Wyatt has been primarily a rotational player for the Packers’ experienced defensive line, operating behind Kenny Clark, Jarran Reed, Dean Lowry and T.J. Slaton, but the Packers are surely glad to have him back so they may continue his development.
The Packers will release their first injury report for Week 6 later Wednesday afternoon.