Sports

Aaron Rodgers will not play on Sunday at the Bears

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers likes to say he owns the Bears. On Sunday, he'll be leasing them to Mason Rudolph.

Via multiple reports — which may or may not have followed coach Mike Tomlin saying it to Evan Washburn of CBS — Rodgers will not play on Sunday, due to the fractured wrist he suffered seven days ago against the Bengals.

Mason Rudolph gets the start for the 6-4 Steelers against the 7-3 Bears.

Rodgers had been pushing to play, obviously. He wanted to keep playing after the injury happened, late in the first half of the Week 11 game. He surely wanted to go in what would have been his last game ever at Soldier Field. Rodgers has been nudged to the sideline instead.

As mentioned earlier, maybe it means he'll be out for several weeks. Maybe it means the Steelers feel better with Rudolph at 100 percent versus Rodgers at something less than that.

The question now becomes whether we'll see Rodgers against the Bills next Sunday and/or the following Sunday in Baltimore, or whether Rudolph (who gave the Bills a run for their money in a 2023 playoff game) will keep going. One key factor will be whether Rudolph can deliver a win in the Windy City later today.

Aaron Rodgers injury update: Steelers QB to reportedly miss Week 12 game vs. Bears due to wrist fracture

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers pushed to play Sunday, but he'll have to wait another week to get back on the field. Rodgers will reportedly miss the team's Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears due to a fracture in his left wrist, per NFL Network.

As a result, Mason Rudolph will get the start against the Bears, with rookie Will Howard serving as Rudolph's backup. Rodgers will be inactive for the contest. 

Despite sustaining the injury in Week 11, Rodgers refused to rule himself out for Week 12. The quarterback was even able to put in two limited practices during the week, receiving a "questionable" designation ahead of Sunday's game. 

But that turnaround proved to be too quick, per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, who expect Rodgers will be able to return for Week 13. 

With the news, Rodgers will miss Sunday's contest against the Bears. Rodgers has dominated the franchise, going 24-5 against Chicago over his career. He's thrown 64 touchdowns against the Bears in those 29 starts, his most against any NFL franchise. 

Through 10 games this season, the 41-year-old Rodgers has thrown 19 touchdowns against seven interceptions with the Steelers. He's led the team to a 6-4 record.

Rudolph, 30, has appeared in three games this season in limited action. He hasn't started a game since Week 17 of last season, when Rudolph led the Tennessee Titans to a 20-13 loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Rudolph, who was originally drafted by the Steelers in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, returned to the franchise in the offseason after a year with the Titans. He's started 18 games over his career, none of which have come against the Bears. 

For first time this season, the Vikings will have their preferred starting five offensive linemen

After the 2024 season ended with the offensive line being overwhelmed by Jared Verse and his Rams teammates for nine sacks, the Vikings decided to overhaul the all-important interior of their five-man wall. (In today's NFL, every position is as important as left tackle, because any weakness will be exploited.)

The tackles aren't the problem, per se. They decided to keep Christian Darrisaw (who was lost to a torn ACL in second-quarter garbage time during the 2024 regular-season game against the Rams) and Brian O'Neill.

At center, former Vikings first-rounder Garrett Bradbury (who's doing well in New England) was jettisoned for former Colts first-rounder Ryan Kelly. Former Colts guard Will Fries came with Kelly, and former Ohio State standout Donovan Jackson was picked in the first round to play the other guard position.

So that was the plan. Darrisaw and O'Neill on the outside; Kelly, Fries, and Jackson on the inside.

Then came the games that count. Darrisaw wasn't ready. Kelly suffered multiple concussions, before landing on injured reserve.

During a Sunday morning interview during NFL Network's GameDay Morning, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell made a point that was both surprising and deflating: The Week 12 game at Green Bay will be the first time all year that the Vikings will have all five of them on the field at the same time.

Will it matter? We'll find out at 1:00 p.m. ET. The up-and-down Vikings tend to do well when they're not expected to. And they're expected to lose to the Packers in Green Bay.

It could be a close one. The Packers' offense has struggled at home lately, averaging 10 points per game in a pair of losses. If the intended five-man front can help the Vikings get something/anything from their offense, maybe they'll be heading to Seattle at 5-6 and hoping to become a contender.

The alternative is 4-7 and, as a practical matter, continuing their recent pattern of playoffs, no playoffs, playoffs, no playoffs.

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