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On Wednesday, Mike McCarthy told reporters that Aaron Rodgers being cleared to play and whether he would actually play this Sunday for the Packers against the Cowboys were two different questions. After Thursday's practice, we started to get a little more idea of what exactly that meant.
However, in what must sound like a broken record, we still don't know any more about whether Rodgers actually will be able to go in Week 15.
There are of course two factors at play to get Rodgers ready to take snaps in a football game again. The first is the medical clearance from the doctors, which Rodgers has not yet received. The Green Bay Press-Gazette's Pete Dougherty breaks down the state of the QB's collarbone itself, as he interpreted it from Aaron:
Quick synopsis of Rodgers' with reporters: he hasn't had medical scan this week, not sure if he will, needs one to be cleared
— Pete Dougherty (@PeteDougherty) December 12, 2013
Welp, that's just great.
On to the second point: Rodgers' game preparation. Obviously, anyone who takes five weeks off from the game will need to get his mind back in the game and get comfortable with a game plan, and for a quarterback that factor is even more crucial. That's the other factor in play here, as Rodgers alluded to:
Aaron Rodgers said he'll have to take the majority of the starter's reps in Friday's practice in order to play Sunday. #Packers
— Paul Imig (@Paulimig) December 12, 2013
Is that helpful at all? No, probably not. For one thing, the team won't give him the majority of the reps if they don't intend for him to start. Furthermore, it would be highly illogical for the coaches to prepare him to start if he isn't cleared by the medical staff. Therefore I can draw one final conclusion here: either Rodgers gets scanned before Friday's practice, is cleared medically, and takes the bulk of the reps; or he's out once again this week.
Oh, and if you were hoping for any clarity on the situation from Mike McCarthy, here he is being is typical vague self:
MM on Rodgers' chances for Sunday: He's a limited practice member.
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) December 12, 2013
Thanks, Mac. We'll keep you posted if we ever actually find anything out that actually answers the question of whether or not Aaron will play. In the meantime, it appears that we've got another 24 hours of conjecture in front of us.
