The fact that Aaron Rodgers is playing with a broken thumb is not news at this point. If you follow the Underage Packers Podcast, you would have learned about it days before the national media got a hold of the story. Big B, one of the hosts, asked Rodgers about his thumb during his Make-A-Wish weekend. Rodgers told him then it was broken.
Since this is a big talking point today let's break some news. I asked Rodgers during my Make-A-Wish how his finger is and he replied that his thumb is actually broken. His thumb was still really bruised and swollen last Saturday.
— Big B (@bigpackers4x) November 18, 2022
Now, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network has broken a story that states that the injury is worse than originally thought:
#Packers QB Aaron Rodgers' thumb injury is actually more serious than previously known. Sources describe it as an avulsion fracture. Incredible he's playing through it.
My story: https://t.co/LEyQyVo2Xp
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 27, 2022
Just How Bad Is Aaron Rodgers Thumb Injury?
According to Rapoport, the type of fracture that Rodgers has in his thumb is called an avulsion fracture. This type of injury consists of a broken bone as well as the ligament being torn away from the bone. Per Rapoport, it is amazing that Rodgers can even grip a football with this kind of injury. According to the article linked to the Tweet above, an avulsion fracture almost always requires surgery.
Why Do the Packers Keep Letting Aaron Rodgers Play?
According to Matt LaFleur, the Packers never even considered keeping Rodgers out for any amount of time due to his injury, even though the team, of course, knew about it.
A day after Aaron Rodgers confirmed his right thumb is broken, Packers coach Matt LaFleur said they never considered holding him out for a game or two.
"Aaron's one of the toughest guys I've ever been around just being able to battle through multiples injuries."
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) November 24, 2022
This has led some people to question the Packers’ faith in Jordan Love. From their point of view, either the Packers do not think Love is very good, or LaFleur does not have the courage to stand up to Rodgers and hold him out for a while.
This leads me to two possible conclusions and I’m not sure which I believe: Either Jordan Love is very bad and GB knows it OR LaFleur has absolutely no stones to stand up to his QB and shut him down. Could be a little of both I suppose. https://t.co/Lk9RuSGwVg
— Kris Burke (@KrisBurke) November 27, 2022
The Injury Has Affected Rodgers’ Play
Zach Kruse of Packers Wire shared this interesting Tweet with how Rodgers ranks among other NFL quarterbacks since his thumb injury:
Since the thumb injury, Aaron Rodgers ranks…
4th in TD passes (11)
29th in completion % (62.0)
21st in passer rating (91.1)
2nd in "Big Time Throws" (15)
12th in PFF grade (76.9)
23rd in YPA (6.7)
1st in deep completions (16)
17th in EPA/play— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) November 27, 2022
To be certain, it is surprising that Rodgers is first in deep completions since the injury. It is also surprising to see him second in “big time throws.” However it is easy to see how much the rest of Rodgers’ game has been affected. Rodgers has the highest passer rating in history, but has just a 93.2 rating this season.
One has to wonder how this injury situation will affect his approach to the offseason. Will he come back for another season, a season in which he will [hopefully] sustain no major injuries? Or will he retire? I don’t think even Aaron Rodgers knows the answer at this point.
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