GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers returned to practice Tuesday for the first time since breaking his left collarbone 22 days earlier. However, the Green Bay Packers aren't getting their hopes up that the star quarterback will be medically cleared for the Thanksgiving matchup in Detroit.
"It does not look like Aaron is going to make it," coach Mike McCarthy said. "He had a good day. This was a big day actually for him as far as doing throwing and doing some of the things, the targets that the training staff wanted to hit with him, they definitely hit it.
"He feels good but I don't think he's going to make it this week."
It was on Monday that McCarthy said Rodgers had a "slim to none" chance of playing against the Lions, but even after practicing Tuesday, those odds have decreased.
"Closer to none," McCarthy said. "It's something to write about. I'm trying to help you out -- the drama BS that you guys need. So, there it is, all right."
Detroit coach Jim Schwartz wasn't so convinced, though.
"The kind of competitor that he is, if there's any kind of slim chance -- I know Coach McCarthy labeled it 'slim and none,' but 'slim' still sounds like something," Schwartz said in his teleconference. "If there's any way that he can be out there, we know the competitor that he is, so we'll be ready for him."
Perhaps that was exactly what McCarthy was hoping to accomplish. With a shortened week of preparation, any extra time that the Lions have to spend looking at multiple options is time taken away from focusing on one quarterback.
But Schwartz can probably stop worrying about the possibility of Rodgers returning for this game. Rodgers said on his ESPN Milwaukee radio show that, while he has been cleared to practice, he has not been cleared for a game.
"I haven't had any pain throwing," Rodgers said on the show. "The issues -- which people probably don't understand, they think, 'Oh, he has no pain, why doesn't he play?' -- it's not that simple.
"There's obviously risk management and then there's the flexibility and the strength, which are two other components of this injury that have to be where I want them to be in order to play. The flexibility and the strength have been the last to come and we'll go from there."
The Packers will have a short practice Wednesday and Rodgers likely will be a limited participant. While it's a long shot that the former NFL MVP plays in the game, wide receiver Jordy Nelson is keeping his fingers crossed.
"I would be surprised, I guess," Nelson said before smiling and adding, "there's nothing wrong with being surprised, though."
McCarthy wouldn't officially announce Matt Flynn as Green Bay's starting quarterback at Detroit, but all signs are pointing in that direction.
"Matt Flynn took the starter reps today," McCarthy said. "It was a big mental day for us. We're just removed from a five-quarter game on Sunday. So, Matt took the starter reps and that's where we are."
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