Rodgers Back to Practice

After suffering a concussion on a crushing hit during Sunday's loss to the Washington Redskins, Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers was back on the practice field today. Fantasy owners, you can probably breathe a sigh of relief -- but only a small one. Rodgers is still questionable for this weekend's game against the Miami Dolphins. The practice environment is really nothing like the game environment. And after all the injuries Green Bay has suffered this year -- which I'll get to in a moment -- the last thing they need to do is rush back Rodgers and lose him for a longer period of time. It still wouldn't surprise me to see the Pack play this one safe and go with the inexperienced Matt Flynn against the Miami Dolphins if Rodgers' status doesn't improve over the next few days.

Rodgers, though, is just the latest edition of the Green Bay Packers decimation via injury this season. They're the NFL's version of the Boston Red Sox for this year. Starting running back Ryan Grant is gone for the season. Linebacker Nick Barnett is likely gone for the season. Linebacker Clay Matthews is out. Tight end Jermichael Finley has a torn meniscus and will miss 8-10 weeks, if not the rest of the season. Hell, I might be shopping Jennings and Driver just because they'll probably get hit with the injury bug too. It's been an incredibly unfortunate turn of events for the guys who I picked to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this season. I still think they're good enough to do so, but with these injuries, they're going to need guys to step up big just to get into the playoff picture.

Anyway, fantasy owners -- stay tuned on Rodgers' status. If you need to splash the waiver wire for a backup QB, I'm looking at Chad Henne against this hobbled Packers defense or Vince Young against the Jags on Monday night. If both guys are taken, I'd be giving serious consideration to the likes of Alex Smith against a subpar Oakland pass defense and even Matt Cassel against the Texans, who don't seem capable of stopping anyone who passes the football on them.