PITTSBURGH — The initial concern is that Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has “a slight break” in his left, non-throwing wrist, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The quarterback will undergo further testing Monday to determine the full extent of the injury and how long he’ll be sidelined, league sources told Schefter.
Rodgers did not return to Sunday’s 34-12 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals after sustaining the injury late in the second quarter.
Rodgers was initially declared to have a hand injury, but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said afterward that Rodgers hurt his wrist. He’ll be further evaluated Monday morning, Tomlin said, adding that he talked to the veteran after the game. Rodgers also was spotted leaving the locker room.
“He was excited about the win,” Tomlin said. “I just talked to him, but that’s all we talked about. We didn’t talk about his injury. We talked about the significance of the win.”
Rodgers landed on his left wrist and hand as he was tackled after throwing the ball away on second-and-goal with just seconds left before halftime. He stayed in for one more play after a timeout, but his hand appeared to have blood on it when he went to the sideline for Chris Boswell‘s successful 25-yard field goal attempt. Backup quarterback Mason Rudolph said Rodgers told him at halftime that he would be starting the second half.
“I saw what you guys saw, which was [Rodgers] kind of go down gingerly a little bit, but I wasn’t sure severity, and I’m still really not sure, either,” Rudolph said. “We talked in the locker room, and he told me, he gave me the finger — not the bad finger, but the index — and said you’re going in.”
Though the Steelers ruled Rodgers questionable to return, he didn’t appear to return to the sideline after halftime. Tomlin said he didn’t know if the 41-year-old signal-caller could have returned in the second half.
“I don’t have the answer to that to be honest with you,” the coach said. “I’ll have more information next time we talk.”
With Rodgers out, Rudolph played the second half and led the offense to two scoring drives. He finished 12-of-16 passing for 127 yards and a touchdown on a 5-yard pass to Kenneth Gainwell in the fourth quarter.
“Mason’s proven in the past what he showed today,” Tomlin said. “That’s why we value him as a member of this collective and are appreciative of his play — and certainly Kenny Gainwell made play after play for us, winning in the flat and so forth, but a lot of guys did.”
Outside of the final victory formation, Rudolph and the offense had only two second-half drives. The first went for 15 plays, and the second went for 12 plays. Before Rudolph took over, the Steelers had two nine-play drives and one that went for eight plays.
“We’re very comfortable with Mason,” Pittsburgh wide receiver Calvin Austin III said. “Went through him all through the OTAs and everything. He came in and did exactly what we expect him to do and just dice up the defense and just spread the ball around.”
Austin also expressed faith in Rudolph — who started three games for the Steelers down the stretch of the 2023 season to make the playoffs — if Rodgers is sidelined for any amount of time.
“Full confidence,” Austin said. “He’s very talented. He has great confidence in himself, as well. For a quarterback and the guy leading the team, you want that, and I think we’re going to be full steam ahead.”
The Steelers’ injury woes continued early into the third quarter when running back Jaylen Warren hurt an ankle as he was tackled. He walked off carefully with medical personnel and went into the blue injury tent. Warren registered 62 yards on 10 carries along with two catches for 5 yards.
Warren returned to the sideline with his helmet on after a brief stay in the medical tent. He was ruled questionable but returned on second-and-3 from Cincinnati’s 12-yard line with six minutes to go in the third quarter. The Steelers, though, called a timeout, and Warren didn’t reenter when the offense came back onto the field.
Warren said after the game that the Steelers were being cautious with what he described as a “tweak.”
“It was just part of being smart,” Warren said. “Got a lot of games ahead of us, so they were just looking out for me.”
With Warren on the sideline, the Steelers turned to Gainwell and rookie Kaleb Johnson in the run game to close out the win. Though Gainwell had just three second-half carries for 6 yards, he finished the game as the Steelers’ leading receiver with seven catches for 81 yards. And Johnson, whose action has been limited this season, had five carries for 15 yards.
