Rodgers’ injury is a season-changing event that will have ramifications throughout the league (Courtesy of ESPN)
Conor Dawson
Connector Editor
On Sunday night in Week 1 of the National Football League (NFL) season, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down clutching his left knee. He was carted off the field, but later came back to orchestrate a stunning come-from-behind victory against the Chicago Bears.
NFL fans might remember when Aaron Rodgers was injured in Week 6 of the 2017 season. The Green Bay Packers ended their season by going 3-8 under quarterback Brett Hundley. While Rodgers did play the game in Week 15, it was too late to save the Packers’ season.
Brett Hundley threw for nine touchdowns and rushed for two. Hundley struggled with turnovers, throwing 12 interceptions and fumbling two times through 10 games. By comparison, Rodgers threw for 16 touchdowns with only six interceptions and one fumble in seven games.
Rodgers was proven in 2017 to be the cornerstone of Green Bay’s offense; without him, they just did not click. This made the season opener on September 9 that much scarier. With 9:18 left in the second quarter, Rodgers went down. He eventually walked off the field under his own power and was carted to his team’s locker room.
After conferring with his team’s physicians, he came back out at the end of halftime. Rodgers came in and completed 20 of 30 passes for 286 yards and threw three touchdowns in the fourth quarter with the Packers being down by 20 points in the third quarter completing a comeback victory.
This is normal for Rodgers. Throughout his career, he has established himself as a field commander capable of directing the players around him to consistently win games under pressure.
The former first-round pick from Chico, California is considered by many to be in the top three quarterbacks currently playing the game, and it is already accepted that he will eventually make his way into the Hall of Fame. He has played 150 games over his 14-year career. He has won a Super Bowl, been to six Pro Bowls, been named All-Pro twice and has been elected the league’s Most Valuable Player twice.
This makes his replacement that much more concerning. Rodgers’ backup is DeShone Kizer, who started for the Cleveland Browns last season. In fifteen games, Kizer threw for 11 touchdowns and rushed for 5. However, he also threw 22 interceptions and fumbled the ball six times. Kizer threw one interception and fumbled once during the short time he had on the field in Week 1.
The Packers may want to sit Rodgers to keep him healthy for later in the season with their next game against the Minnesota Vikings team with a renowned defense. They might consider warming up their third-string quarterback Tim Boyle and hope he can play better than Kizer. Their games coming up should not be impossible to win but games against the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots later this season might prove completely unwinnable without their starting quarterback.
As of now, Rodgers’ status against the Vikings is questionable, but the Vikings team will be preparing for him.
