Aaron Rodgers is convalescing in Los Angeles this week after a successful surgery to repair the broken collarbone he suffered on Oct. 15 against the Vikings. And part of Rodgers' recovery includes playing video games with Conan O'Brien.
During a segment that aired Thursday night (you can watch it here), Rodgers said doctors used 13 screws to repair his collarbone. The Packers quarterback also talked about the conversation he had with Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr, the man responsible for Rodgers' injury.
"I looked over at him as I walked off the field," Rodgers told O'Brien. "Cameras caught me saying something to him but what they missed was him [giving me the] finger [and the] 'suck it' sign."
We haven't seen any visual evidence confirming this. And while we'd typically take Rodgers at his word, here's what he told ESPN.com's Jason Wilde in response to a question about whether 13 screws were really needed to repair his collarbone: "It's TV. Sometimes you exaggerate. And then sometimes, you tell the truth."
Either way, hats off to either Barr or Rodgers for the "suck it" shoutout; the catchphrase was made popular 20 years ago this month by wrestler Shawn Michaels.
Meanwhile, O'Brien also took this opportunity to call out Packers offensive tackle David Bakhtiari for not better protecting Rodgers.
"David, David, I don't want to tell you how to do your job but how the ---- are you supposed to protect Aaron if you're over here?" O'Brien asked. "What were you doing? Where you shopping for groceries?"
We're guessing Packers coach Mike McCarthy didn't see the humor in this since he's now without Rodgers for perhaps the rest of the season and he wasn't crazy about Barr's tackle that injured the quarterback.
"I didn't like the hit. I had a chance to watch it last night on the plane. (Rodgers) is out of the pocket, he's clearly expecting to get hit. To pin him to the ground like that, I felt it was an illegal act," McCarthy said last week. "To sit here and lose any of your players on something like that, it doesn't feel very good. Yeah, I didn't like the hit. It was unnecessary. Legal, or whatever you want to put it at … but it was totally unnecessary, in my opinion."
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer saw the hit differently.
"We're playing football," Zimmer said. "It's unfortunate that he got hurt but I think everything was above board. We're not a dirty football team. We'll never be a dirty football team as long as I'm here. We're going to play within the rules and sometimes things happen."
The Packers placed Rodgers on injured reserve Oct. 20, which means he won't be eligible to play for eight weeks. It's unclear if he'll be healthy by then. In the meantime, this is Brett Hundley's team. Hundley, a 2015 fifth-round pick, has struggled in his two appearances, completing 52.5 percent of his passes with one touchdown, four interceptions and a quarterback rating of 40.5. Behind him on the depth chart: Joe Callahan, who was just promoted from the practice squad.
As it stands, the Packers are 4-3, but have lost two in a row. They're on their bye and will host the Lions on "Monday Night Football" to conclude Week 9.
