The toe injury that bothered Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers over the last two months is not expected to be a factor when the team opens the playoffs next week.
Rodgers, the favorite to win NFL MVP, practiced with the team on Wednesday and is now confident he’ll be 100 percent by the time he’s preparing for a playoff opponent in the NFC Divisional Round.
“I’m feeling good, practiced today, close to 100 percent but think I should be 100 percent by next week,” Rodgers said Wednesday.
Rodgers fractured his left pinky toe while in quarantine in early November. The injury has lingered but hardly affected his play, despite the need for pain-numbing shots before and during some games. Over the final seven games, Rodgers tossed 20 touchdown passes without an interception, a stretch of play that will likely lead to him winning MVP for a fourth time.
Rodgers said he hasn’t needed an injection in a while, possibly since Christmas Day against the Browns. He got two days of practice in last week before the Packers finished the regular season on the road in Detroit. He started in the game and played the first half without issue.
Rodgers isn’t the only star in Green Bay getting healthy. David Bakhtiari played in the season finale, Jaire Alexander continues to practice, Za’Darius Smith was back on the field on Wednesday and Randall Cobb and Billy Turner could both be back for the start of the postseason.
Rodgers said he can sense the excitement and energy involved with so many key players being back with the team. The Packers, who labored through the adversity of injuries all season but still ended up at 14-3 and the No. 1 seed in the NFC, are getting healthy at the right time, and with everyone available, are well-positioned to make a run at a Super Bowl.
The Packers are off this week but will practice. The team has four possible opponents for next week depending on the results in the NFC Wild Card Round. The Packers will host the lowest remaining seed in the NFC field next Saturday or Sunday at Lambeau Field.
