Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t come out of the locker room with his teammates after halftime. The 41-year-old quarterback took a handful of hits in the first half, appearing to injure his left arm on the final hit he took in the second quarter.
Rodgers was brought down by several Bengals who landed on him. He stayed in the game, but was clearly favoring his left arm during the final few plays.
Head coach Mike Tomlin told the CBS broadcast after halftime that he was still being evaluated and that Mason Rudolph would need to be ready.
Mason Rudolph takes over as Pittsburgh waits for clarity on Aaron Rodgers’ injury
The Bengals got the ball to start the second half, but throughout their seven-play scoring drive, Rudolph warmed up on the sidelines while Rodgers remained in the locker room. At least for now, Rudolph will be under center for Pittsburgh.
Rudolph has thrown just two passes this season while backing up Rodgers. Of course, he’s plenty familiar with the offense, having spent seven of his eight NFL seasons with the Steelers. Pittsburgh has faith in Rudolph, evidenced by the cheers he received as he took the field.
Of course, while the offense hasn’t been clicking as well as fans would hope, Rodgers' influence in the offense is tied to the identity of the roster this season. If he’s lost for an extended period of time, Steelers fans will have some confidence in Rudolph, but long-term goals in the postseason would certainly be harder to come by.
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So far, there’s no word on the severity of Rodgers’ injury, so we don’t want to speculate too much. Nonetheless, it goes without saying that Rodgers’ extended stay in the locker room isn’t the most promising sign.
We’ll continue to monitor Rodgers’ status as more information becomes available.