Aaron Rodgers is not the first Steelers quarterback to deal with a broken left wrist. Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw also played with a broken left wrist for the last three months of the 1977 season.
Bradshaw suffered the injury in a Week 4 loss to the Houston Oilers. He went on to not miss a single start the rest of the year. He threw for a then-career-high 2,523 yards along with 17 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. The Black and Gold finished the 1977 regular season 9-5, but fell to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Round playoff game. Bradshaw threw three interceptions in the 34-21 loss at Mile High.
During his media availability on Wednesday, Rodgers outlined his recovery plan to play on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. As expected, Rodgers did not practice on Wednesday.
"A lot of rehab. Just thankful to get today, to work with Gabe [Amponsah] and just focus on rehab for a day. We'll try to get back on the field tomorrow and see what I can do," Rodgers said.
When asked if he would wear a brace on his fractured left wrist, Rodgers replied, "We're working through that."
Tolerance of the pain won't be an issue for Rodgers, it's more about how he'll protect himself.
"It'd be a safety thing. … Gotta get the OK and gotta feel like I can protect myself," the four-time NFL MVP said.
While the left wrist injury won't impact his throwing motion, Rodgers will have to show that he can still perform the rest of his duties with the injury at practice this week. Some adjustments could be made to make things easier for Rodgers.
"I would say it'd be difficult to take a snap under center than catch one in the gun and there's been times in my career where we have adjusted and gone to some pistol sets if we need to, to still keep the spacing on the run distribution between the halfback and the quarterback, but the goal would be to take snaps from under center," Rodgers said.
Rodgers suffered the left wrist injury late in the second quarter of Sunday's win over the Cincinnati Bengals .
"The second down play is when it happened. I was in a lot of pain. It was late in the play clock. I called time out, came over, felt like I could go one more play and then went in and got it checked out," Rodgers said.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed during his Tuesday press conference that Rodgers has a fracture in his wrist and it does not require surgery
"Aaron's got a fracture in his wrist. It does not require surgery. Really, it's just about bracing it and securing it for his comfort and safety, and then it's about how functional he is," Tomlin said. "And so we don't have the answers to that as we stand here today, but certainly I would imagine we're gonna get some clarity as we push through the week.
"I think his experience really kinda aids in that. He's the type of guy and has the type of profile that doesn't require a lot of physical work in an effort to be ready to play, and that's helpful."
If Rodgers is unable to play, Mason Rudolph would once again be expected to fill in as his backup. Rudolph finished Sunday's win over the Bengals and played well, throwing for a touchdown pass and leading two second-half scored drives.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Aaron Rodgers Shares Something in Common with Steelers Legend Terry Bradshaw
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