Aaron Rodgers admitted before Sunday night's Week 12 game at the Eagles that he had been playing with a broken right thumb. The Packers quarterback left that same game in the fourth quarter with a different injury, this one to his ribs.
With Green Bay losing the game 40-33 despite a late rally led by young backup QB Jordan Love, its 2022 NFL season is unofficially lost. The Packers are 4-8 and with a near-zero chance of making the NFC playoffs as a wild-card team.
Given that Rodgers was beaten up in the second half, was visibly in a lot of pain and now has multiple injuries, he should be considered questionable at best to play against the Bears in Chicago in Week 13. Love, who made the only start of his career last season in Kansas City when Rodgers was on the reserve/COVID-19 list, inspired a little bit with some much-improved passing in Philadelphia.
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When Rodgers was fully healthy and the Packers still had a shot at the playoffs despite their offensive struggles, there was no reason to think about benching him. Rodgers said after Sunday's game "he'd like to be out there" until the Packers are mathematically eliminated. But if Rodgers is really hurting and the final five weeks of the season would be meaningless, then the Packers must weigh whether a long shot at a reward is worth risking more wear.
Here’s the play where #Packers QB Aaron Rodgers appeared to injure his right oblique/ribs
— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) November 28, 2022
Full details⏩https://t.co/gnlvk1OD1W pic.twitter.com/qkcktMlG3S
The Packers made a huge reinvestment in Rodgers in the offseason. His new contract locks them into him for the 2023 season. He also turns 39 on Friday.
There will be a lot of hot-take noise about this being the ideal time for the Packers to transition from Rodgers to Love as their franchise QB for good. But Rodgers is still the two-time reigning MVP and Love is an unproven commodity with a small sample size.
The Packers first need to learn more about whether Love is the right QB to potentially succeed Rodgers in 2024. Love is still on his four-year rookie contract, but after '23, when it's possible to break out of Rodgers' contract, they need to decide whether to pick up his fifth-year option.
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As much Rodgers wasn't thrilled about the Packers using a first-rounder on Love in 2020, it was a sneaky motivational factor in him playing at an elite level the past two seasons. In turn, Rodgers' Hall of Fame presence in the QB room has been a factor in accelerating Love's development between Years 2 and 3.
The Packers now won't need to worry as much about approaching Rodgers with some kind of weird voluntary benching plan. This is becoming more about preservation and erring on the side of caution ahead of next season. Rodgers is a relentless competitor, but he's also smart enough to know there's not much for which to play when he can't physically play up to his standard.
The Bears' defense is a comfortable opponent for Love. He can then play well and build confidence in a winnable home start against the reeling Rams. The Packers would learn a lot more about Love in back-to-back games against the playoff-bound Dolphins and Vikings, the latter at home. Week 18 is also at Lambeau, against the Lions.
The Packers do have a bye in Week 14 between the Bears and Rams. Should Rodgers need to miss Week 13, they'll have time to revisit how to handle his health depending on the Bears result and how the rest of the NFC playoff picture looks then.
And there aren't just the injuries to Rodgers to consider. There also are major injuries to the defense. Outscoring teams such as Miami, Minnesota and Detroit is difficult when the unit is getting gashed by the run and giving up big pass plays. The Packers need to be careful about the health of a lot of key players going forward.
The Packers have a key decision to make soon. With their 2022 season in the tank, it can be win-win for Rodgers and the team to think more about '23 and '24.