The fans in Winnipeg might see one of the best quarterbacks of all time this Thursday night. Aaron Rodgers could play against the Oakland Raiders, in Green Bay’s third preseason match.
The two-time MVP was sidelined during Sunday’s practice and didn’t appear in Packs’ second preseason test against the Baltimore Ravens. The official reason was hi back tightness.
At the moment, the sources are saying that Rogers might appear in Canada, but nothing is confirmed. Head coach Matt LaFleur doesn’t have the opinion on this one, and awaits further news from the doctors. On the other hand, Green Bay’s general manager, Brian Gutekunst believes Rogers will play at the Investors Group Field stadium.
“We’d love to have him out there (on Thursday),” Gutekunst said. “But again, I think he got a lot of practice reps against Houston.”
The player himself is not a big fan of the preseason matches and wasn’t very happy when Packers had joint training sessions with the Houston Texans. According to his words, it is much more efficient to have a good practice with his own team than to have a preseason match. Simply, there is a gain for both sides, and the improvement made there is bigger than during those clashes.
“The practices are so much more important than the preseason,” he said. “The looks that we see on a day like today are invaluable reps. It’s an attacking defence, it’s different fronts, it’s different pressures.”
He also isn’t pleased with the fact that some teams have preseason obligations and others don’t. Afterward, he gave an example of the Los Angeles Rams. Rodgers stressed out that nobody mentioned that, but many were condemning players who have raised their voices over preseason events.
Regarding the game in Winnipeg, the Packers QB said he would play if coach LeFleur wants that. But, if that is not the case, that won’t bother him at all.
If Matt wants us to play, we’ll play and go out and compete. If not, I feel pretty good about where we’re at,” said Green Bay’s no.12.
The Packers are opening the season against their biggest rivals, the Chicago Bears. It will be the opener of the 100th season of football in the United States. Bears are a team on the rise, while on the other side, the Packers are going downwards. Over the previous two seasons, they haven’t reached the playoffs, mostly because of Rodgers’ injuries.
It is possible, that the player doesn’t want to play these games to avoid any risks of picking up another injury which could ruin the entire campaign. The Packs have high ambitions from the upcoming one, as they changed many things in the organization. After 13 years, Mike McCarthy is no longer the head coach of the franchise from Wisconsin.
Matt LeFleur arrived, and the executives hope that the 39-year old brings some fresh blood and ideas in the locker room, and exploits the talent of Aaron Rodgers.
