Packers’ Rodgers expects to play, LT Bakhtiari eyes return
PITTSBURGH: Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers expects to make his preseason debut Thursday night at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers. “I’d like to (play) in front of our fans,” Rodgers told reporters Monday. “It’d be nice to get out there, back on Lambeau. When I came back from my injury (last year), I was on the road, so I haven’t played at home for a long time.” Rodgers’ last game at Lambeau Field was in Week 4 of 2017, two weeks before he broke his collarbone. He returned in Week 15 but went back on injured reserve after the Packers lost at Carolina, eliminating their chances of reaching the postseason.
The Packers’ final two preseason games will be at Oakland and at Kansas City. Thursday also could mark the preseason debut of left tackle David Bakhtiari, who is recovering from an ankle injury sustained Aug. 5 in the team’s annual scrimmage. Bakhtiari returned to taking snaps in team drills at Monday’s practice, giving him a chance of being ready Thursday.
The Packers surely would prefer to have Bakhtiari, who has been named second-team All-Pro in back-toback seasons, protecting Rodgers’ blind side. “I think he knows I’m playing so he wants to be out there with me,” Rodgers said with a joking smile.
“He’s a rock over there,” Rodgers continued. “We don’t worry about (him). Dave’s over there, he can handle it. We can win that matchup consistently, and that’s who he is now. I’m glad we paid him because he’s worth it to the team and definitely to me.”
Bakhtiari, who turns 27 in September, has started 74 of a possible 80 games (all at left tackle) since he was drafted in the fourth round in 2013 out of Colorado. He missed four games last season with a hamstring injury. Rodgers, 34, has played in just seven preseason games over the past four years, including just one in 2016. He had played in all 16 games for three consecutive years before the collarbone injury derailed his 2017 campaign. Rodgers also spoke Monday about the criticism he had for some of the Packers’ younger receivers last week, saying the words were the product of his desire to win. “The things I’m saying, I don’t have any vendetta against one player,” Rodgers said. He added, “I’m going to say and do the things I feel that can advance us. It’s going to be tough at some points. It’s not a popularity contest all the time. Obviously, as a human you like being liked and appreciated, but I’m trying to win games. Because that’s my job.” Youngsters Marquez Valdes Scantling (five catches, 101 yards, one TD), Equanimeous St. Brown (four catches, 61 yards) and Jake Kumerow (three catches, 76 yards, one TD) all impressed in the Packers’ preseason opener, two days after Rodgers described the effort level of several young receivers-excluding Kumerow-as “piss poor.”
But Rodgers dismissed the idea that his words helped spur the strong performances. “I don’t think that’s a response to anything I’ve said,” Rodgers said. “Now maybe it is for a couple of them, but it shouldn’t be. You get to this league and to stick around, you have to be self-motivated. So as a leader you’re trying to inspire, but the motivation to change and to improve has got to come from within.”— Reuters