McCarthy: Packers’ Rodgers to have surgery on collarbone
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The sullen expression that Aaron Rodgers had on his face while being carted back to the locker room at Minnesota proved to be a precursor to the diagnosis that no one on the Green Bay Packers wanted to hear.
Coach Mike McCarthy knew pretty quickly that this was one injury that the two-time NFL MVP could not shake off.
McCarthy said that Rodgers will have surgery on his broken right collarbone. The rest of Rodgers’ season is in jeopardy.
“He’ll be out a minimum, a significant amount of time — potentially the season could be over,” the coach said on Monday.
“So, he’ll have surgery here in the near future and after we see how that goes, we’ll focus on getting Aaron healthy. That’s all that really matters right now.”
Rodgers landed on his throwing shoulder after being taken down by linebacker Anthony Barr during an incompletion on the second drive for the Packers in the 23-10 loss to the Vikings on Sunday.
“We all knew — [quarterback coach Alex Van Pelt] and myself, when we talked to him immediately, I knew he was injured,” McCarthy said. “I think he knew right away.”
Backup Brett Hundley is now the starting quarterback. A fifth-round draft pick of the Packers in 2015, Hundley went 18 of 33 for 157 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in relief of Rodgers.
The Packers promoted third-stringer Joe Callahan from the practice squad to back up Hundley, placing cornerback Quinten Rollins on injured reserve with an ankle injury to open up a roster spot.