Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers to start Week 13 against Bills, will play through fractured wrist

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will start in Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills, head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters on Friday.

Rodgers missed last week's game against the Chicago Bears after suffering a fractured wrist in his non-throwing arm against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11. Backup Mason Rudolph relieved him after the injury, closing out the dominant win by going 12-of-16 for 127 yards and a touchdown.

Rodgers underwent further testing for the injury after the game, which showed that he wouldn't need surgery. Tomlin noted that his availability for Week 12 would come down to “safety,” but after logging limited practices on Thursday and Friday, Rodgers was officially ruled out on Sunday morning.

Starting in place of Rodgers, Rudolph completed 24-of-31 passes for 171 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception in the team's 31-28 loss to the Bears. The former third-round pick holds an 8-5-1 record as a starter for the Steelers over five seasons.

The week before Rodgers went down, he had one of the worst games of his career visiting the Los Angeles Chargers. Rodgers threw for 161 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. His 50.6 NFL passer rating in that game marked the sixth-lowest of his career in a single start. 

The 41-year-old quarterback has thrown for 1,969 yards, 19 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in his first season with the Steelers.

Rodgers signed a one-year deal with the franchise as one of the Steelers' key offseason acquisitions back in early June, joining wide receiver DK Metcalf as newcomers on offense. Pittsburgh traded a 2025 second-round pick for Metcalf back in March, subsequently signing the wideout to a five-year, $150 million extension to become the team's de facto WR1. 

Rodgers will be without starting left tackle Broderick Jones in his return this week after Jones suffered a neck injury in Week 12. Swing tackle Calvin Anderson replaced him after the injury, giving up a single pressure on 13 pass-blocking opportunities per PFF.