Reports: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers tests positive for COVID-19, is unvaccinated
Nov 3, 2021, 8:30 AM
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) throws against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Six days after his Packers defeated the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has tested positive for COVID-19, according to multiple reports on Wednesday.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was first to report Rodgers will miss a game Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, setting up backup Jordan Love to start.
Ian Rapoport reported that the Packers already ruled Rodgers out for the game in four days because he is unvaccinated. Vaccinated individuals would have the potential to be cleared with two negative COVID-19 tests in two consecutive days.
Rodgers in August suggested he had received the COVID-19 vaccine when asked by reporters.
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“Yeah, I’ve been immunized,” he said, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. “There’s guys on the team that haven’t been vaccinated and it’s personal decision, not going to judge those guys.”
Rapoport added Wednesday that Rodgers has indeed not gotten vaccinated “by the letter of the law in the NFL.”
The soonest Rodgers could return to the team is in 10 days, on Nov. 13. That’d be a day before the Packers face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10.
Packers practice squad quarterback Kurt Benkert had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.
Green Bay played Arizona last Thursday with defensive coordinator Joe Barry and receivers Davante Adams and Allen Lazard sidelined due to positive coronavirus tests.
Arizona had been the subject of COVID-19 news in Week 6 with coach Kliff Kingsbury and edge rusher Chandler Jones sitting out a win against the Cleveland Browns due to COVID-19. Defensive linemen Corey Peters and Zach Allen, plus quarterbacks coach Cam Turner, were also impacted by the virus.
All of those Cardinals players have since been activated off the COVID-19 reserve list.
As NFL teams prepare for Week 9, the Packers and the New York Giants are now in the spotlight due to positive COVID-19 tests. The Giants had a string of positive tests on Tuesday, head coach Joe Judge told reporters.
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