For once, the main injury storyline heading into a Dallas Cowboys game has to do with an opponent's star.
Not to take anything away from the likes of Rolando McClain or Anthony Hitchens, who are both battling injuries for the Cowboys, but there is no bigger star in Sunday's game than Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and he hasn't been on a football field since Dec. 28 when the Packers beat the Lions for the NFC North crown.
Rodgers said he's planning on playing on Sunday with a calf strain that he suffered leading up to that Lions game and reaggravated that day, forcing him to leave the game for a bit of time before returning and being restricted to the pocket, although he did score on a quarterback sneak.
He hasn't seen a field since that day, meaning he hasn't practiced since. The Packers had a first-round bye and practiced twice last week, but Rodgers missed both. The team doctor didn't clear him to practice on Wednesday, according to ESPN.com, and it was unknown whether he'd practice on Thursday with only Saturday's walk-through remaining before Sunday's game.
"I plan on Aaron playing Sunday," Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said after Wednesday's practice. "Today's schedule was for him to stay exclusively in the training room. There's still some things that he needs to work through. We'll see what tomorrow brings, if he'll be able to practice. It's day-to-day, but everything points in the direction of him playing."
The fact Rodgers hasn't practiced at all is a bit of a concern, but with a guy like that at this point, you have to wonder how much he needs practice. Still, you have to wonder how much rust he'll have if he's unable to practice at all.
