Packers’ Aaron Rodgers tests positive for COVID-19, will miss game vs. Chiefs: report
The Aaron Rodgers-Patrick Mahomes marquee matchup is off.
Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19, and the Packers quarterback will miss Sunday’s game against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, according to a report from the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Rodgers is not vaccinated, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, though when asked by local media in August if he had been vaccinated, he replied, “Yeah, I’ve been immunized.”
Suffice to say, his absence significantly alters the matchup Sunday — Rodgers is a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and the reigning Most Valuable Player, winning that award last season over Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Mahomes.
The Packers are 7-1, currently the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Their backup quarterback is Jordan Love, a 2020 first-round draft pick out of Utah State. Love has thrown seven career passes — all this season. He has 68 career yards.
The Packers-Chiefs matchup was added to both teams’ schedules when the NFL expanded to 17-game schedules this season. It won’t have the same luster without Rodgers.
The two quarterbacks — Rodgers and Mahomes — were slated to face one another in 2019, but Mahomes missed that game with a dislocated kneecap.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 10:08 AM.