Aaron Rodgers didn’t want to admit being hurt, because he thought it sounded like an excuse.
But when his name appeared on the injury report Wednesday, as being limited with a shoulder injury, he could no longer deny it.
“It’s not an excuse. It’s a source of pride. I think that’s the difference,” Rodgers told Jason Wilde of ESPN.com. “Some people use the injuries as an excuse. But I think for the guys in this locker room who are out there battling, it’s a source of pride.”
Whether it explains his recent skid (he’s completing just 56.5 percent of his passes during the three-game losing streak) or not, it has to be a factor.
Rodgers also apparently suffered a leg injury against the Lions, though that hasn’t been documented on their report. But he wouldn’t say how long the shoulder had been bothering him, or if the injury came in the Lions game.
“Some people don’t like going in the training room and getting treatment. We want to be out there with our guys,” Rodgers said. “There’s a lot of pride in lacing it up every Sunday and knowing that it doesn’t matter what you’re dealing with, you’re going to play through it. We’ve all done it over the years.
“My thing is no more important than anybody else’s injury. If I feel like I give us the best chance to win by being out there and dealing with whatever I’m dealing with throughout my career, I’m going to be out there.”
So now that that’s settled, we can get back to finding out what the real problem is.