Aaron Rodgers Leaves With Left Wrist Injury Which Brings Attention To Trump Prediction About Mason Rudolph

The Pittsburgh Steelers are struggling against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, but they have a potentially bigger problem: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is out.

Rodgers left Sunday's game against the Bengals with a left wrist injury that the team believes is at least a minor fracture, per a source. But the full extent of the injury's seriousness will not be known until Monday, coach Mike Tomlin said.

Rodgers told teammates he doesn't believe the injury will keep him out of the lineup long term but remember, this is a guy who thought he could return from a ruptured Achilles tendon in a few months when that injury happened in 2023.

Rodgers was replaced in the lineup by backup Mason Rudolph.

Rodgers Injured Avoiding Sack

Rodgers apparently landed on his left side as he was trying to evade pass rushers in the second quarter. After staying on the field for a beat and unpiling the defenders that fell on him, Rodgers got up holding his left wrist. 

He was grimacing, visibly suggesting this is a serious issue.

Coach Mike Tomlin did not give any details on his starting quarterback's status other than to say Rudolph was warming up.

And here's the problem: Even though the injury is on his non-throwing arm/hand/wrist, the guy's a quarterback.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 23: Mason Rudolph #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates after securing a first down during the second quarter of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium on December 23, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

Rodger Gave Rudolph The Finger

He needs to handle the quarterback with the left hand at times.

Rudolph, by the way, led the Steelers on a field goal drive to open the second half. He was as surprised to be in the game as anyone until Rodgers told him he was going in the game in a uniquely Rodgers way.

"Well, I saw what you guys saw, which was him kind of go down, gingerly a little bit, but I wasn't sure the severity, and I'm still really not either," Rudolph said. "We talked in the locker room, and he gave me the finger and said, 'Hey, you're going.' Not the bad finger, but the index finger and said you're going in."

If we're talking a significant fracture to Rodgers's wrist, we're talking weeks out of the lineup. 

Rudolph is no stranger to starting games for the Steelers. He started three games in 2023 and won all three starts. He turned that into a short-lived time with the Titans before returning to Pittsburgh in the offseason.

Despite his previous success as the starter, and the endorsement of President Donald Trump who predicted big things for him this season, as "the guy," one has to wonder where this will leave the Steelers.

Trump May Have Predicted This

"I think he’s going to get a big shot," Trump predicted in May.

Are they about to make the President look like a prophet?

Or are the Steelers in major trouble?

Rodgers, 41, played all 17 games for the Jets last season and started all 10 games so far this year before Sunday's injury. He missed all but four plays in 2023 with an Achilles rupture.