Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered an injury early in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. Rodgers was hit by linebacker Anthony Barr and landed hard on his right arm.
The #Packers Aaron Rodgers injury who is in the medical tent pic.twitter.com/AI9V8lVAEm
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 15, 2017
After being checked on the sideline in a medical tent, Rodgers was driven back to the locker room on a cart. Initial rumblings were that Rodgers may have sustained an elbow injury, but the Packers soon announced to the media that their quarterback suffered an injury to his shoulder and his return to the game was in doubt.
Green Bay’s backup quarterback is Brett Hundley, a third-year player out of UCLA. (Incidentally, Barr is also a UCLA alum, so he helped out a fellow Bruin.) As you might expect, he hasn’t seen much playing time behind Rodgers. During his career, he’s thrown 11 passes.
Hundley’s first attempt after replacing Rodgers was an interception, snagged by the Vikings’ Xavier Rhodes. Minnesota followed up that turnover with a touchdown two plays later on a 27-yard run by Jerick McKinnon.
The Brett Hundley INT, courtesy of #Vikings Xavier Rhodes pic.twitter.com/EEwH0Mmllx
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 15, 2017
Trying to recover from losing their quarterback and MVP will be a considerable obstacle for the Packers. Not only have they lost arguably the best QB in the NFL for an undetermined period, but the mental aspect of that blow is surely difficult to recover from. Of course, it doesn’t help when the backup comes right in and throws an interception.
An already tight NFC North could become even more cozy if Green Bay ends up losing this game.
UPDATE: Rodgers’ injury could be serious, according to Fox’s Jay Glazer.
.@JayGlazer says #Packers’ fear is that Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone. Testing still being done.
— Arthur Arkush (@ArthurArkush) October 15, 2017
Rodgers previously broke his collarbone in 2013, missing seven games. No word yet if this break occurred in the same area or if it’s as serious as the previous injury. Rodgers did come back to finish the 2013 season, with Green Bay winning the NFC North and losing a playoff game to the San Francisco 49ers.