Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers misses practice but is hopeful he'll play vs. Bears

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers is optimistic but hardly certain his broken left wrist will be good enough for him to play on Sunday when Pittsburgh visits Chicago. There's no question how the rest of him feels about the potential to get a chance to face the Bears one last time. The 41-year-old four-time MVP clashed memorably for so long with Chicago during his long run in Green Bay earlier in his career. "There's incentive for every opponent, but I have enjoyed many a Sunday and Monday and many Thursdays in that city," Rodgers said. "It's a great sports town, phenomenal sports fans, and a great place to play." Particularly if you win there as much as Rodgers has through the years. Rodgers is 11-1 at Soldier Field, and permanently etched his name into the lore of the oldest rivalry in the NFL when he memorably told the home crowd during a trip to Chicago in 2021 that he "owned" one of the league's marquee franchises. "I feel like we can let bygones be bygones, maybe," Rodgers said with a smile, then later added, "I hope those fans can put that behind them. I'm sure they can't. Don't expect them to." There's a chance Rodgers returns to practice on Thursday wearing a protective brace on the wrist he broke late in the first half of last Sunday's 32-14 win over Cincinnati. Rodgers was rolling to his left and jumped to heave a pass to the back of the end zone, then landed awkwardly on the wrist of his non-throwing hand. Mason Rudolph, who was excellent in the second half against the Bengals, will get the nod if Rodgers is unavailable, though it seems the Steelers will exhaust every avenue to make sure that Rodgers can go. Rodgers said the primary issue will be safety. If he can protect himself and handle the ball normally, he'll likely be given the OK. He could return to practice as early as Thursday, though Steelers coach Mike Tomlin pointed to Friday as a pivotal day in deciding who will be under center when the Steelers (6-4) try to win in Chicago for just the second time in franchise history. Rudolph is preparing to be ready if called on, but knows anything can happen. He has been spectacular in his four extended appearances for Pittsburgh, posting a quarterback rating of around 120 during a run that started with engineering three straight victories to get the Steelers into the 2023 playoffs, then a steady two quarters against the Bengals. "I think I got a lot of different experiences to draw from," Rudolph said. "Whether you find out the day before the game, or you're thrown into the game first quarter or in the second half or you get the whole week of reps. So you definitely draw from those experiences." The environment in the quarterback room is a bit more relaxed than it was during Rudolph's first stint with the team from 2018-23. Rodgers and Rudolph both good-naturedly referred to each other as "trolls" on Wednesday. Rodgers tweaked Rudolph for the lengthy list of "dad jokes" he tries to reel off during a meeting. Rudolph called it one of the "most fun" groups of quarterbacks he's been around, even if it's still a little surreal that he's sharing it with a future Hall of Famer. When Rudolph and the victorious Steelers made their way to the locker room on Sunday, Rodgers was waiting outside to congratulate him. "I think if the 14-year-old me knew that I was getting a nice dab from A-Rod after a game, that would be pretty darn exciting," Rudolph said. Still, Rudolph knows that Sunday holds special significance for Rodgers beyond the opportunity for Pittsburgh to hold onto its slim lead over Baltimore in the AFC North. "I think he made the comment early on that there's certain games that mean a lot and just games you circle, and this was one of them," Rudolph said. "So I understand his motivation to come back and take the field against an old rival." ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl