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Green Bay Packers can’t afford to sit Aaron Rodgers

By Brian Sampson

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 23: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers signals from the line in the second half pass against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on September 23, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 23: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers signals from the line in the second half pass against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on September 23, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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As Aaron Rodgers fights through a “knee sprain,” some are suggesting the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback should sit out a few games to get healthy.

The Green Bay Packers are nothing without Aaron Rodgers. We learned that all too well last season and for part of the first half against the Chicago Bears in Week 1. As much as general manager Brian Gutekunst tried to change that in the offseason, it still remains true in 2018. And that’s why it’s absurd to suggest the Packers sit Rodgers to allow him to get healthy.

Proponents of this strategy are coming from a good place. They want Rodgers to be healthy down the stretch and give Green Bay the best possible chance at making a deep playoff run. They feel now is the time to do it given the next three opponents (vs Buffalo Bills, at Detroit Lions, vs San Francisco 49ers) the Packers play are all winnable games.

Following those three games is also the Packers’ bye week. That would give Rodgers about a month to heal considering the next time he’d play in a game would be Oct. 28.

That all makes sense and sounds somewhat reasonable. However, there are a couple of major factors missing from consideration.

For starters, DeShone Kizer, the Packers’ backup quarterback, is awful. He had two turnovers against the Bears and is nowhere near ready to lead this team. He’s only the backup because the Packers wanted to get some compensation in return for Brett Hundley’s expiring contract. Otherwise, he was thoroughly outplayed by Hundley in the preseason.

Also, the Packers struggled to beat the Bears and got smoked by Washington. The Bills just whooped the Minnesota Vikings, in Minnesota nonetheless, and the Lions beat the New England Patriots. Those games are certainly not guaranteed. There’s a good chance the Packers could lose two of those three and go into their bye at 2-3-1. Not great, Bob.

Then, even if Rodgers is 100 percent healthy, their schedule actually begins to get difficult.

Immediately following the bye, the Packers travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams, followed by a trip to New England and then back home against the 3-0 Miami Dolphins. Even if the Dolphins aren’t for real, the Packers will be hard-pressed to go 2-1 over that span.

They follow that up with a trip to Seattle for a Thursday night game. Even though the Seahawks aren’t what they once were, that’s a tough road game on a short week. The Packers get a mini-bye, but then get thrown right back into the gauntlet with a game at Minnesota. This time, a 1-1 outcome is probably best-case scenario.

After all of that, the Packers could be looking at a 5-4-1 record with six games remaining. They’d likely have to win all six or at least five of those games to get a spot in the playoffs. That’s not a great position to put themselves in.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances that are too late to change, the Packers have made their bed. They must now lay in it and that means having Rodgers’ gut out this injury as long as no further damage or future harm is at risk.

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