PITTSBURGH -- Aaron Rodgers offered a preview on Sunday night of perhaps what’s to come next week.
Or perhaps it was just a tease.
Whatever it was, the Green Bay Packers quarterback threw for the first time in public since his Oct. 19 surgery to repair his broken right clavicle.
And this wasn’t just a little tossing around the pigskin. He launched at least one throw that traveled more than 50 yards in the air. The workout took place about two hours before the Packers played the Steelers at Heinz Field.
Rodgers went on injured reserve the day after his surgery and is eligible to practice this coming week. However, he must remain on IR for eight weeks, meaning the earliest he could possibly play would be Dec. 17 at Carolina -- the Packers’ Week 15 game.
It was two weeks ago when Rodgers first could be seen going through some rehab work off to the side in the Packers' indoor practice facility. That workout was limited to conditioning, footwork and a simulated throwing motion with a towel.
Rodgers was all smiles after the short throwing session Sunday. He sat on the bench with several teammates and then signed some autographs for early arriving Steelers fans, who wished him good luck on Sunday night to which Rodgers replied: “I’m not playing.”
Aaron Rodgers signed some autographs for Steelers fans, who wished him good luck tonight. To which Rodgers replied, "I'm not playing."
The question is will he play again this season?
He said shortly after his surgery that if his collarbone is healed, he would play again this season -- but only if it was completely healed. However, the Packers would likely only play Rodgers if they were still in the playoff race. They entered Sunday night’s game with a 5-5 record but have winnable games at home against Tampa Bay and at Cleveland in the next two weeks.