Aaron Rodgers has a heavy load to bear the next five weeks. So he might ditch a little weight to make the travel easier.
According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, Rodgers hopes to get rid of the bulky knee brace he’s been wearing since injuring his left knee in the opener, though it might not be this week.
“If I’m completely healed, I don’t need to wear a brace,” Rodgers said. “Feel more comfortable without it, obviously. Having dealt with a knee injury for much of my football life, obviously you’re more protected. You see some guys who do wear it all the time without having issues, but I just feel more comfortable without having it on. So if it’s not on, that means I’m feeling great, and if it is, that means I’m not quite all the way back.”
The Packers need him at his best, entering a stretch of games at the Rams, at the Patriots, a lone home game against the Dolphins and road trips to the Vikings and Seahawks..
They’re 8.5-point underdogs this week, the largest margin they’ve seen since Rodgers has been their starter.
And whether he’s wearing the brace or not, he said they’re “going to have to play better, we’re going to have to play a lot better than we have to win those games.”
At 3-2-1, it figures to be a defining month of their season whether they want to admit it or not, so it’s natural for Rodgers to want to feel unencumbered.
