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Rodgers on whether he will play for Packers Sunday vs. Vikings: 'We're taking it one day at a time'

Rodgers on whether he will play for Packers Sunday vs. Vikings: 'We're taking it one day at a time'
Posted at 11:28 AM, Sep 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-11 15:15:12-04

He first initially proclaimed to a national television audience that he planned to play against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday after injuring his knee during an incredible comeback victory against the Chicago Bears.

Now, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is giving the same type of answer that his coach Mike McCarthy offered Monday as to whether the all-world signalcaller will play Sunday (9 a.m. on WTMJ).

"We're taking it one day at a time," Rodgers said on the Dan LeBatard Show which airs on ESPNNews.

Initially asked in a fun way by a member of the show broadcast crew as a way of helping with that staffer's fantasy football team, Rodgers deadpanned "I can't give out fantasy help like that."

Rodgers hurt his left knee during a sack in the second quarter of Green Bay's miraculous 24-23 win over the Bears after trailing 20-0. He left the game in the second quarter, but was able to play in the third and fourth stanzas and threw three touchdown passes in the final quarter to lead to the largest fourth-quarter comeback victory in team history.

The rest of the discussion was also rather fun, as Rodgers discussed numerous topics including his trip to see the Dalai Lama and to give hearing aids out to some of Africa's poor.

"That was a blast. It was definitely something, when you get the call and the opportunity, you don't pass it up," said Rodgers. "His Holiness, a 90 minute private audience, and private outrach in Zambia (a mission trip to give hearing aids to hearing-impaired people)...a once-in-a-lifetime trip."

Rodgers spoke of a gift that most football fans would appreciate, but didn't initially translate to the Buddhist leader.

"I wanted to bring a game-worn jersey from the playoffs," he said.

"I gave him the hat, a ball and the jersey. His translators didn't quite understand the nature of the gift. They were wondering why there was a little bit of dirt on the jersey...we tried to let him know that it was a special thing, not an old dirty thing."

Rodgers has undergone a long spiritual journey beyond his time as a quarterback with the Packers. He often expressed his Christian faith during his rookie year in 2005 and won the Bart Starr award which reflects on that belief. Yet he talked in 2016 about his spirituality, not necessarily believing God has one team he roots for over another, and the specifics of his purpose on earth.

Rodgers also used the LeBatard Show to discuss playing golf with President Obama during his tenure in the White House.

"That was a blast. He was present the entire time. He wasn't on his phone. We were chopping it up about sports, life. That's the same realm with the Dalai."

It made Rodgers reflective on how being arguably the best quarterback to ever play the game has opened up incredible doors to him.

"In those moments, I realize how fortunate I am that football was the vessels that got me to these places," said Rodgers.

"Wow. My life's pretty good. I have a lot of blessings."