As expected, quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn't practice Wednesday, but he did say his fractured left wrist "feels better than it did Sunday."
Rodgers also said that he hopes to 'return to the field' on Thursday in anticipation of the Steelers' game Sunday against the Bears in Chicago.
Chicago has been the site of great success for Rodgers, who owns a 12-3 record there as a member of the Green Bay Packers, a division-rival of the Bears.
Does Rodgers have extra incentive to heal and play there?
"There's incentive for every opponent," he said. "But I have enjoyed many a Sunday and Monday and Thursday in that city. It's a great sports town, phenomenal sports fans, and great place to play."
Does he thrive there as a villain? Rodgers smiled.
"I'd rather not be," he said. "I mean, I'm not in Green Bay anymore. I feel like we can let bygones be bygones. Maybe. I can. I guess."
Rodgers went on to praise the city and its fans, but realizes that before he can be either booed or vilified, he must be able to function with an injury that occurred on the second-and-7 pass late in the first half of the Steelers' win Sunday over the Cincinnati Bengals.
"That's when it happened," Rodgers said. "I was in a lot of pain. We were late in the play clock, called timeout, came over, felt like I could go one more play, then went in, got it checked out."
Mason Rudolph replaced Rodgers in the second half and led the Steelers to 10 points in the team's only two possessions. Rudolph's ready to play Sunday if Rodgers can't, and Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Rudolph was "oozing confidence" against the Bengals.
"Felt like I was oozing jitters," Rudolph joked Wednesday. "It's always your first couple of completions that get you into the rhythm of the game. But it was nice working with the first team offense quite a lot through training camp and into the preseason games to kind of when you go in the huddle it's not like there's a bunch of new faces that you hadn't worked with. So, that was good."
Rudolph and Rodgers, speaking separately after Wednesday's practice, joked about each other in explaining their bond.
"Mason, he's a troll," Rodgers said with a smile and a pause. "He makes every day so much fun. I told him this, I said, 'Thanks for making this fun.' We joke in the quarterback room. He's got a checklist of the jokes he's got to get off out of his brain every single day. But he's hilarious, and I really enjoy our time together in the room in here, outside the facility. He's a great backup, he's super helpful during the week, he's a professional, he's ready to play, he's a gamer."
"It's pretty harsh coming from a troll himself," joked Rudolph. "We've got a good, healthy banter, all of us in the quarterback room, each and every day, and it's been one of the most fun rooms I've ever been a part of. We keep it light. He's got a lot of material out there for me to use, so he's at a bit of a disadvantage, because I don't have the paparazzi waiting outside my house in Malibu every day."
Rodgers said that he was proud of Rudolph's performance against the Bengals as he watched the second half from the locker room at Acrisure Stadium. Rodgers' happiness for his teammate caused Rudolph to ponder if "14-year-old me knew that I was getting a nice dap from A-Rod after a game, it'd be pretty darn exciting. He's very kind and complimentary."
Rodgers said he and the training staff are still figuring out which brace to attempt to use if he does practice this week, and/or play Sunday.
Another issue is whether he'll be able to take snaps from under center.
"It'd be more difficult to take a snap under center than to catch one in the 'gun," Rodgers said. "And there've been times in my career where we have adjusted and gone to some pistol sets if we need to still keep the spacing on the run distribution between the halfback and quarterback. But the goal would be to take snaps from under center."
Rodgers was asked what exactly needs to happen for him to play.
"Got to get the OK," he said, "and got to feel like I can protect myself."
As for Rudolph, he's become accustomed to the difficulty of balancing the need to prepare to play and the need for a quality understudy.
"You have to be chomping at the bit every time your number's called, otherwise you're going to miss an opportunity, and you won't be in the right mental state," said Rudolph. "But I've been back and forth. I got plenty of experience of going back and forth in different roles. It's part of what's probably chilled out my personality a little bit, because I just say screw it and I just roll with the punches."
