CHICAGO – The mystery is over. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won’t play Sunday against the Chicago Bears.
The veteran signal caller was designated as questionable to play this game at Soldier Field while dealing with an injury to his non-throwing hand.
[READ: Bears vs. Steelers preview: Game picks, bold predictions, how to watch]
Rodgers suffered the injury in a Week 11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. He missed Wednesday’s practice but was limited on Thursday and Friday.
Veteran backup Mason Rudolph will start in Rodgers’ place.
The longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback has been Chicago’s foil over the years. He is 24-5 against the Bears, slanting this longstanding rivalry in Green Bay’s direction. He has a 12-3 record at Soldier Field, and last played there in 2022.
This was the first time he was scheduled to play there, representing a team other than the Packers. This marks his first season with the Steelers, a team he signed with this offseason in free agency.
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He has completed 64% of his passes for 1,969 yards, 19 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 97.7 passer rating.
Rodgers talked this week about no longer being a villain in Chicago anymore.
“I’d rather not be, I mean, I’m not in Green Bay anymore,” he told Steelers reporters on Wednesday. “I feel like we can let bygones be bygones. Maybe I can.”
It’s highly doubtful Bears fans are willing to let things go. There’s too much trauma there, even if Rodgers is with a new team.
Bears players and coaches said all week that they hoped to face Rodgers.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Aaron Rodgers,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said on Wednesday. “He’s done this at a high level for an incredible amount of time and if he’s ready to go this week, I would love nothing more to compete against him.”
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