GREEN BAY, Wis. _ Green Bay Packers tight end Richard Rodgers broke the tip of his ring finger on his right hand last week, but it didn't stop him from practicing Sunday.
Rodgers, who didn't play in the exhibition opener against Philadelphia, said Sunday that he was able to do pretty much everything in practice with a splint on his finger. It wasn't ideal for catching a football, but he said he was able to do it.
"I can still catch and play," Rodgers said. "It's not that much of a setback.
"I just had a splint on it today, just a protective covering. Pretty easy, simple. Not very big. It didn't limit me very much."
Rodgers injured his finger on a throw from quarterback Brett Hundley during a red zone drill last Tuesday. Rodgers actually tipped the ball in the air, giving safety Morgan Burnett an easy interception, but it went off Burnett's fingers and back into Rodgers' arms for a touchdown.
"Yeah, it hit off my finger, that's what happened," he said. "I just caught it off the tip."
Asked if the finger dislocated, Rodgers said no.
"It was just the tip broke, no dislocation or anything like that. (I just have to) let it heal."
Rodgers has four weeks until the season opener against Seattle so there's a chance the finger won't need a splint to start the season. But for now, he'll have to figure out a way to catch the ball and get his hands on opponents when he's blocking.
The latter might turn out to be the most challenging given how much grabbing is required.
"I'll just have to see when I get out there and play because going against your teammates is obviously not like a game," Rodgers said. "But for the most part I was pretty good blocking today. We'll see when I get out there."
