Rodgers’ health prioritized over practice

GREEN BAY - Despite Aaron Rodgers’ public throwing session during pregame warm-ups at Heinz Field on Sunday, the Green Bay Packers are not focused on a potential return to practice for their star quarterback, according to coach Mike McCarthy.

Rodgers, who was placed on injured reserve in late October after undergoing surgery on his broken collarbone, is eligible to practice later this week. Players on IR can return to practice six weeks from the day they were moved off the 53-man roster, and they are eligible to play after eight weeks.

Since the Packers do not practice on Fridays, the first chance for Rodgers to return to the field would be Saturday.

“We’ll see,” McCarthy said when asked if Rodgers will participate in practice this week. “I mean, he’s still going through — there’s a protocol, there’s targets we’re trying to hit each and every week. I think they’re working (on it), and it’s segmented. The A-number one priority is to get him healthy. Practice is not something we’re really focused on right now.

“We have no decisions for you today. Once again, there’s a step-by-step process. I have nothing to give you today. I’m more focused on game-planning for the Buccaneers. There’s a plan laid out for Aaron, just like the other guys on IR. He’s knocking it out of the park, he’s going at it 120 miles an hour. We’ll see what the end of the week brings.”

Rodgers caught the eyes and camera lenses of thousands Sunday when he launched footballs in excess of 40 yards during a pregame workout. He threw passes to strength and conditioning coach Mark Lovat on a breezy and chilly day in Pittsburgh.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” McCarthy said. “I mean, think about it: You’re on a rehab process and the ability to throw in an opponent’s stadium, so no, everything that they’re doing is calculated between the training room, the strength and conditioning room and Aaron. As you would imagine, he’s going at it 120 miles an hour, and so far so good.”

The Packers could receive another boost this week from tailback Aaron

Jones, who tore his MCL against the Chicago Bears this month. Jones is scheduled to be part of the rehab group before Wednesday’s practice, according to McCarthy, and will have a chance to rejoin the full team session if things go well.

Meanwhile, rookie cornerback Kevin

King continues to be plagued by a shoulder injury that originated during his college career at Washington. King bounced in and out of Sunday’s loss to the Steelers multiple times after aggravating his shoulder in the first half.

The injury is likely to hinder King throughout the remainder of the year, and there’s a good chance he will have surgery during the off-season.

The Packers turned to Josh Hawkins whenever King was sidelined Sunday night. McCarthy defends decision: McCarthy stood behind his decision to attempt a 57-yard field goal late in the third quarter Sunday despite the fact it backfired when kicker Mason Crosby missed badly, setting up the Pittsburgh Steelers for a game-tying score.

The Packers were ahead, 21-14, when linebacker Blake Martinez intercepted Ben Roethlisberger’s tipped pass at the Pittsburgh 45-yard line, further building the momentum they were enjoying in the second half.

The drive petered out, however, at the 39-yard line after quarterback Brett

Hundley was sacked twice, leaving Green Bay with a fourth and 18 at the 39.

McCarthy’s options: punt and try to pin the Steelers deep in their own territory or attempt a field goal that would be four yards longer than the longest ever made in Heinz Field history.

He chose the field goal and Crosby missed badly to the left.

“We had a mark for going north and south,” McCarthy said of the limits for which Crosby had hit in pregame practice. “That was right on the fringe. I obviously have a lot of faith and trust in Mason.”

McCarthy is notoriously aggressive with some aspects of the game and admitted he was in this situation.

“Absolutely,” he said. “We knew we needed points. You look at the flow of the game. You look at time of possession. Those are the things you’re thinking about all through the course of the game. How long has your defense been on the field?

“That’s the right decision.”

It turned out to be wrong when Pittsburgh turned around and drove 57 yards for a touchdown. The six-play, 3-minute and 25-second drive completely shifted the momentum back to the Steelers.

Confusion in clutch: The Packers got the ball at their own 18-yard line with 1:20 left and a chance to take the lead Sunday night, but what happened in the ensuing minute played a major role in their demise.

McCarthy said the Packers had every intention of going into their 2-minute offense and trying to win the game in regulation, but on first down quarterback Hundley was sacked for a 6-yard loss by linebacker T.J. Watt.

It was a legal helmet-to-helmet hit because Hundley was scrambling and had given up his protection as a passer. McCarthy thought it was an illegal hit, but the officials didn’t call a penalty or stop the clock to see if Hundley was OK.

“There was a hit on the first play,” McCarthy said. “We all recognized it. The quarterback wasn’t checked on the play.

“The play entry (from McCarthy to Hundley) wasn’t in a timely fashion like it normally would be on a second down of a 2-minute drill.”

Hundley got the play off in time and swung a pass out to running back Jamaal Williams in the flat. Williams gained 3 yards and ran out of bounds,

stopping the clock with 32 seconds left. In the scramble to get off the play, he had not been made aware the Packers were no longer in 2-minute.

Had he stayed in bounds, Pittsburgh would have had to decide whether to burn a timeout or let the clock run and play for overtime. Instead, the clock stopped automatically and McCarthy called a running play on third and 13 to try to burn more time.

“When we got to third and long, I obviously played for overtime,” McCarthy said.

Pittsburgh had all three timeouts remaining, so it probably wouldn’t have mattered if Williams had stayed in bounds.

“I don’t fault Jamaal for going out of bounds on the second down,” McCarthy said.

Spriggs gets a shot: For all the positives Justin McCray brought to the right tackle position, his future with the Packers is on the interior of the offensive line. The Packers made that clear Sunday by making a change to their starting lineup.

McCarthy and offensive line coach

James Campen decided late in the week to replace McCray with Jason

Spriggs, the former second-round pick who returned from injured reserve earlier this month.

“It proved that he can play some football,” Bakhtiari said. “He’s going to start setting a standard.”

Turning to Spriggs allows the Packers to determine both their short-term and long-term future at the right tackle position after the season-ending injury to

Bryan Bulaga, who tore his ACL against the Detroit Lions.

Spriggs played well against the Steelers in his first significant action since injuring his hamstring in the season opener, and an extended run of good performances could position him to win the starting job in 2018.

Bulaga is unlikely to be ready until September.