GREEN BAY
Josh Jackson Jersey , Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers hoped to return from the bye week without the brace that has protected his left
knee since the second half of the opening game.Instead, Rodgers was the only
player not on the field on Tuesday for the team’s first practice of the
week.While his teammates began preparing for Sunday’s matchup at the undefeated
Los Angeles Rams, Rodgers continued to rehab the injury. That’s how he’s started
every practice week since sustaining the injury during the second quarter
against Chicago on Sept. 9.“It’s too early to tell,” Rodgers said of playing
without the brace. “I’d love to, but it’s too early to tell at this
point.”Rodgers has played well, despite the injury and reduced practice time. He
enters this week’s games ranked 10th in the NFL with a passer rating of 100.1.
His 6.5 yards per carry is better than his career-high mark of 6.3 in
2014.Still, he would like to be fully healthy as the Packers start a critical
stretch to the season.“If I’m completely healed, I don’t need to wear a brace.
Feel more comfortable without it, obviously,” Rodgers said. “Having dealt with a
knee injury for much of my football life, obviously you’re more protected. You
see some guys who do wear it all the time without having issues, but I just feel
more comfortable without having it on. So
JK Scott Jersey , if it’s not on, that means I’m feeling great and, if it is, that means I’m not quite all the way back.”Rodgers said he did not have
another MRI during the bye to determine how much the knee has healed.
Regardless, the break came at a good time for the team and for Rodgers, who has
been dealing with other minor injuries. He’s been sacked 19 times.“It was a
great week, nice and relaxing with everything we’re dealing with,” he said. “The
knee is an issue but we have other bumps and bruises that aren’t on the injury
report because they’re not significant enough. It helps, the week, healing those
things up.”The Packers will need Rodgers at his best as he takes on the Rams.
With Los Angeles ranking third in the NFL with 33.6 points per game, Rodgers
knows he might have to win a shootout.Doing so, however
Rashan Gary Green Bay Packers Jersey , will be difficult against a defense that ranks fourth with 18.3 points allowed per game. Behind Aaron Donald’s four sacks, the
Rams had seven sacks in a rout of the 49ers last week.“You have that chip on
your shoulder,” receiver Davante Adams said. “Obviously, we understand why we
would be underdogs based on the record and the play style and the way they’ve
been playing.“They’ve been playing some great ball in all three phases, really.
So, I saw something where this is like the biggest underdog he’s ever been
point-wise. So, that kind of stuff fires guys like No. 12 up and I know it fires
me up.”The challenge won’t get any easier in succeeding weeks. Next, it’s a trip
to New England to face the Patriots. After a home game against Miami, it’s
back-to-back road games at Seattle and Minnesota. Those five teams are a
combined 23-10-1.For Green Bay (3-2-1), this could be a make-or-break stretch to
its season.“We’re going to have to play a lot better than we have to win those
games,” Rodgers said. “This is an important stretch in our season. I’m not going
to say it’s going to define our season, but it’s definitely going to shake
things out when we get on the other side of this and get back home in six weeks
on where we’re at in the race and what we’re playing for.” The Packers have
brought in a challenger for Mason Crosby’s job."As the 2019 NFL Draft comes into
focus
Rashan Gary Jersey 2019 , the Green Bay Packers continue to look at ways to improve their roster. On Monday, the team claimed kicker Sam Ficken off waivers
from the Seattle Seahawks.Ficken has spent parts of the last four years with NFL
teams, mostly with the Los Angeles Rams as an injury replacement for Greg
Zuerlein. Ficken converted two of his three field-goal attempts and four of his
five extra points in 2017. He missed two field goals for the Rams in 2018,
leading to his release in early October.Accordingly, the Packers’ interest in
Ficken remains somewhat unclear. Mason Crosby, their kicker for more than a
decade, converted over 81 percent of his field goal attempts this past season,
including an impressive 5-7 mark on kicks of 50 or more yards. Crosby does carry
a 2019 cap number of $4.85 million, considerably more than Ficken would cost
should he make the team. That could possibly weigh into the front office’s
thinking when it comes time to determine the 53-man roster.Alternatively, head
coach Matt LaFleur and his new coaching staff plans to put everyone associated
with one of the worst special-teams units in the league on notice after another
poor season. Crosby has faced competition for his job before, most notably
fending off challenges from Giorgio Tavecchio and others during the 2013
training camp and preseason.
