Adam Schefter Reveals How Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers Decision Was Made
The Pittsburgh Steelers badly needed a win in Week 12, and it would have been a perfect chance for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to beat his biggest rival, the Chicago Bears, one more time.
It wasn’t meant to be, though, as Pittsburgh ultimately decided to keep Rodgers, who suffered a fracture in his non-throwing wrist a week earlier, out of the game in the Windy City. The Steelers ultimately lost the game and are now tied at 6-5 atop the AFC North.
One day later, ESPN’s Adam Schefter shed light on how and when the Steelers ruled out the four-time MVP.
“My understanding is that Aaron did want to play. He was put in a position to play all week long, and the doctors obviously were more cautious and guarded,” Schefter explained in an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Nov. 24. “I think ultimately in the end, the doctors and Mike Tomlin make the call about whether or not he’s going to go, and they decided on Saturday to hold him out of the game.
“The players didn’t know until Sunday pregame exactly what was going to happen, but they made the decision on Saturday to start Mason Rudolph.”
Aaron Rodgers Injury: Steelers QB Reportedly Made Push to Play
It’s impossible to say what would have happened had Rodgers been under center in Week 12, but if he had been able to be anywhere near 100%, it might have made the difference.
Rudolph played OK, completing 24 of 31 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown, but he did throw an interception, and the offense went cold in the second half. Despite leading 21-17 at the half, the Steelers could only muster one touchdown after halftime, a late score that got Pittsburgh within a field goal.
Despite not being able to play, Rodgers tried to make an impact on the Pittsburgh sideline (by doing more than just flipping the bird).
“I think he knows this isn’t my first time doing it, so he wasn’t talking my ear off, but he provided some extra support and some extra setup, veteran, awesome eyes on the sideline,” Rudolph told reporters after the game, per NFL.com.
Case for Sitting Aaron Rodgers Makes Sense, If Pittsburgh Gets Right
Ultimately, divisional and conference games are what’re going to matter for the Steelers. As much as Rodgers would have loved one more chance to needle his longtime rival from his Green Bay days, the Steelers clearly felt they had a better chance of keeping him out of harm’s way for one week to have him healthier for a stretch run.
That starts in earnest in Week 13 when the Steelers face a massive AFC showdown with the Buffalo Bills. Josh Allen and company are faltering, clinging to the final playoff spot at 7-4. Not only is every win huge for positioning in the division with hard-charging Baltimore, but the Steelers could very well be fighting for a wild-card spot with the Bills.
As such, it’s no surprise that Tomlin told reporters after the game in Chicago that he expected Rodgers to play when the Steelers return home to face Buffalo.
PlayoffStatus.com currently gives the Steelers a 56% chance to make the postseason, a number that is likely to undergo a major change regardless of what happens in Week 12.
Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer Gives Concerning Trevon Diggs Update
On one hand, Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs has been a star for the team, a two-time Pro Bowler who racked up 11 interceptions in 2021 and parlayed that into a five-year, $97 million mega-contract back in 2023, when he was the fifth-highest paid corner in the NFL. On name alone, Diggs is a guy you want on the roster.
But the reality of Diggs, on the other hand, has been very different. He has been battered by injuries in his last two seasons, and had a graft operation on his knee back in January. The knee has not been right all year.
And Diggs, more generally, has not been right all year. He struggled to adjust to the new defense of coordinator Matt Eberflus, and complained publicly about the lack of man coverage in the scheme. But, fact was, Diggs was struggling to maintain his standard whether in man or zone, and rated a Pro Football Focus grade of 58.7, which is just 66th among corners in the NFL.
Diggs has been out for more than a month now, though–and the Cowboys say he still won’t be back this week, either.
Trevon Diggs Remains on Cowboys Injured Reserve
When Diggs suffered a concussion, then, in an accident at his home back before Week 7, the Cowboys decided to take the opportunity to reset Diggs altogether. They put him in injured reserve, meaning he would be required to sit out at least four games, with the hope being that while he was getting his noggin right, he would also have a break to get his knee right.
Diggs was eligible to come off IR before last week, but the team declined to do so. He has not yet had his three-week practice window opened.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer says that is not happening this week, with just four days to prepare for the Chiefs.
“He’s doing better,” Schottenheimer said Monday. “One of the issues this week is that it’s a short week. Again, we’ll see what everybody does, but short weeks are a little harder. He’s doing everything best, and has a really good look on his face.”
Trevon Diggs May Have Lost Job
There is the question, too, of whether the Cowboys are all that eager to have Diggs back. In his place, certainly in the past two weeks, the defense has excelled, and Dallas’s coverage unit has not missed him much. The Cowboys have gotten two younger cornerbacks–second-year man Caelan Carson and rookie Shavon Revel–back in the fold in that span.
Both players are getting their feet wet. But there are indications that even if Diggs gets healthy quickly, his job might not be waiting for him when he comes back.
Cowboys Seeking Consistency From Corners
That could depend on Diggs, and how he looks in practice. He has been running on the side, Schottenheimer said, and the Cowboys coach insists he looks good. But if Carson wins the job, he will be tough to displace.
Already, the Cowboys made a bold move to cut ties with former starter Kaiir Elam. They’ve been serious about shaking up the defense.
As Schottenheimer said of Carson: “When you’re talking about young players like that, when they go out and play well, they have to stack it, right? They have to go and do it again. But don’t forget — which he won’t — what got you to play well. It was the urgency, it was the things we were challenging him on, and he’s taken ownership of. I think that’s really cool.”
