Aaron Rodgers Rehabbing Throwing Motion Is a Public Sign of What the Packers Need to Do

I was minding my business on a Wednesday afternoon when all of a sudden I saw this nugget from Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel — for the first time since breaking his collarbone against the Vikings, Aaron Rodgers rehabbed in front of reporters:

" Rodgers worked on cardio and agility drills and then took snaps from a trainer simulating both the under center kind and shotgun. A couple times, Rodgers playfully threw the ball a few yards back to the trainer with a three-quarters motion. Later, Rodgers whipped a towel down in a throwing motion with his right arm. "

Ooohhh! Intriguing! There is obviously a lot that still has to happen. There’s a big difference between whipping a towel or throwing a football in three-quarters motion and getting cleared by the conservative Dr. McKenzie for play in the regular season. But!

Let’s dream for a second. The Packers went into Chicago and beat the Bears last week. Three of their next four games — Ravens, Bucs, and @ Browns — are plausibly winnable with Brett Hundley. (They ain’t beating the Steelers.) If the Packers could go 2-1 in those three games, they’d be 7-6 with Rodgers eligible to return. The Packers’ final three games are at Carolina, Minnesota at home, and at Detroit. If they get Rodgers back, those games become winnable as well.

Whether Rodgers will ultimately be able to return is going to be unknowable until right before it happens but by rehabbing in front of reporters the idea is firmly supplanted in everyone’s mind that if the Packers take care of business against some bad teams their season could indeed still be salvaged.

UPDATE: hmm, here’s what Mike McCarthy had to say today: