Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers has fracture in wrist but not ruled out Sunday

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Nov 18, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers has beaten the Chicago Bears more times than any NFL team in his decorated career, so much so that he once incited their fan base by famously saying, “I own you.”

Rodgers would love to post career victory No. 25 when the Steelers (6-4) play the new-look and surging Bears (7-3) on Sunday at Soldier Field. But his availability might not be determined until Friday at the earliest when he has to check several boxes before he can convince coach Mike Tomlin he is capable of playing.

Tomlin confirmed on Tuesday that Rodgers has a fracture in his left wrist that does not require surgery but did not rule out the possibility the former four-time league MVP could play against the Bears, the team he has tormented for the majority of his career.

“It’s just about bracing it and securing it for his comfort and safety,” Tomlin said during his weekly news conference. “And then it’s about how functional he is.”

Rodgers was injured on the next-to-last play of the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals and never returned to the field. Tomlin said Rodgers wanted to return to the game, but team doctors ruled against it because they did not know the extent of the injury at the time.

That’s why Tomlin said the least of his concerns, should Rodgers play in Chicago, is his quarterback being able to tolerate pain.

“The variables are stabilizing it and making sure that he’s safe and he can protect himself, brace himself as he falls,” Tomlin said. “And then lastly, obviously, how effective he can be.”

If Rodgers is unable to play, Mason Rudolph will make his first regular-season start since the Steelers' playoff loss in Buffalo on Jan. 15, 2024. Tomlin also said they will get rookie Will Howard ready to be the No. 2 quarterback, if that’s the case.

Rudolph replaced Rodgers at the beginning of the second half against the Bengals and completed 12 of 16 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown. He had a passer rating of 118.5 and converted 5 of 6 third-down chances.

“We’re used to it,” Tomlin said of Rudolph. “He’s proven over his time here that he’s capable of coming in and playing winning football for us. And that’s no small task.”

Rodgers has a career record of 24-5, including playoffs, against the Bears, and has thrown 60 touchdowns against his one-time NFC North rival, more than any other team.

After he ran for a 5-yard touchdown in a 2021 game in Chicago, he taunted the Bears fans by yelling, “I own you.” That’s probably something that will be prominently talked about and displayed in the Bears locker room this week.

And that’s probably a strong reason why Rodgers wants to play on Sunday. If he can’t, it will be only the fifth season in his 21-year career he missed at least one game because of injury.

“I know he’s working his tail off to be a component of this week,” Tomlin said. “He expressed that directly. I’m of the mindset of supporting that, while at the same time I got a healthy collective of guys as a team and as a unit to ready.”

Hot hand

Even though Jaylen Warren had 54 yards rushing and was averaging 6.8 yards in the first half against the Bengals, he never took another snap after he injured his ankle four plays into the third quarter.

Tomlin said Warren was cleared to return to the game, but he liked what backup Kenny Gainwell was doing and decided to stick with the fifth-year running back.

While Gainwell eventually finished with seven catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns, he only had six carries for 18 yards and two catches for 19 yards at the time of Warren’s injury.

“Certainly at that point in the game, based on what we’ve seen, things were going well with Kenny and things were less than ideal with Jalen,” Tomlin said. “So we stuck with the hot hand.”