Packers’ Aaron Rodgers positive for COVID-19 has huge Seahawks ramifications for next week
Things couldn’t be breaking better for the Seahawks and their next game if it got moved from Green Bay to Russell Wilson’s backyard.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is in the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol and is away from his team. Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur confirmed that Wednesday. LaFleur said Rodgers was out for the Packers’ game Sunday at Kansas City and unproven Jordan Love will start for him.
“Our team will rally around Jordan,” LaFleur told reporters in Wisconsin.
LaFleur would not answer repeated questions about whether Rodgers is vaccinated against COVID-19, as 94% of the NFL’s players are reported to be. But the fact that the Packers have already declared Rodgers out for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs the same day they found out about the positive result means Rodgers is not vaccinated, per NFL COVID protocols.
League policies for the 2021 season say vaccinated players who test positive for COVID can return to all team and football activities after two negative results on subsequent, consecutive tests with 24 hours of each other. So if Rodgers was vaccinated he would still have a chance between Wednesday and Sunday to test negatively twice and play in Kansas City.
League protocols require unvaccinated players to quarantine for 10 days and have negative COVID tests before they can return to their team and play.
NFL Network and ESPN reported Rodgers is not vaccinated. NFL Network reported Rodgers will indeed be out “a minimum of 10 days.”
The Seahawks play the Packers in Green Bay in 11 days.
Asked if Rodgers will be available to play in that game, LaFleur told reporters in Green Bay: “I really don’t know. I just know that he won’t be available this week.
“We’ve got a great opponent that we are going against (Sunday in Kansas City), then we will address next week when we get there.”
Monday, Wilson got the surgical pin removed from his repaired middle finger on his throwing hand.
Tuesday, the Seahawks’ quarterback who hasn’t played in a month posted a video online that showed him throwing a football with a gloved, right hand. He wrote on his Twitter account he was throwing “weeks” before he was supposed to.
That is Seattle’s best sign yet that its $140 million franchise quarterback will attempt to come off injured reserve and play the Seahawks’ next game, against the Packers (7-1).
The Seahawks (3-5) are on a bye this week.
But they are winning, anyway.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 10:33 AM.
