Aaron Rodgers is back, but that doesn’t mean the Packers need only to show up for the final three games.
The Packers star quarterback repeated the same theme Mike McCarthy did earlier in the day when the coach stressed to his team about not having “a bunch of false confidence.”
“Hopefully, it gives a lift to some of the guys, but I’m not coming back to save this team,” Rodgers said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “I’m coming back to play quarterback the way I know how to play it. Hopefully, we all raise the level of our play collectively and find a way to win these three games.”
Rodgers’ broken right collarbone kept him out almost two months. The team’s medical staff cleared him to return to game action this week, and Rodgers wouldn’t address whether he lobbied team physician Dr. Pat McKenzie for clearance.
“I wouldn’t be standing here ready to play if I wasn’t confident I could go out there and play the way that I’ve always played,” Rodgers said. “There’s just no point in doing that. It’s a risky game; it’s a dangerous game. There’s risks every time you step on the field.
“With the concussions that have happened in this game, that, to me, is something to be more worried about than altering your play to take a shot and landing on your shoulder again. That’s something that we deal with and that’s why we love this game. I think [Steelers safety] Mike Mitchell had a lot of good points when he was talking about the nature of this game. It’s a physical game, and you have to go out and play as much as you can without fear. That’s why I’m here, that’s why we’re cleared, and that’s why I’m playing.”