Aaron Rodgers Won't Have Surgery on Knee Injury Suffered in Week 1 vs. Bears

Green Bay Packers superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers has said he will not be undergoing surgery for the injured left knee that plagued him during the 2018 season.

He spoke about the injury and the decision to forego surgery during an appearance on the NFL Network over the weekend (h/t Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com):

"I feel great. My body feels really good. Instead of getting surgery postseason, decided to kind of go through a different routine with my knee than I've done in the past, and I'm feeling really, really good. Got a concussion the last game, that's cleared up. I'm feeling really good. I'm getting back into my workout routine, but the first month of the offseason is a lot about yoga and traveling."

Rodgers, 35, suffered the injury in the first game of the season and looked far less than 100 percent for much of the campaign. While he played in every game and his numbers remained excellent (4,442 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, two interceptions, 62.3 completion percentage), the Packers stumbled to a 6-9-1 record and former head coach Mike McCarthy was fired mid-year.

While Rodgers graded out well (89.7 from Pro Football Focus, good for fifth among quarterbacks), the Packers offense struggled compared to their dangerous units of the past, finishing 12th in yards (369.1 YPG) and 14th in points (23.5 PPG). At times, Rodgers simply didn't look the part of an elite passer, though the team's issues ran deeper than its signal-caller.

A clean bill of health should help, especially since Rodgers has struggled with left knee issues throughout his career, per Demovsky:

"He last had surgery on that knee after the 2015 season. That procedure was described as a 'cleanup of an old injury.' That's the same knee on which Rodgers had ACL reconstruction done during college at the University of California, stemming from a high school basketball injury.

"'It's the lead leg, the plant leg, it's not the brace or the back of the drop leg, which I haven't had, thankfully, a major right knee injury, but I've dealt with the left knee injury since I was 16 years old,' Rodgers said in September shortly after the season. 'Fortunately Doc cleaned me out a few years ago after the season and it's been excellent since then.'"

It's the beginning of a new era in Green Bay, with Matt LaFleur taking over as head coach. But as always, the Packers will go as far as Rodgers can take them. If he's 100 percent for the 2019 season, the Packers will once again be a threat.