Will Aaron Rodgers Play? Doesn’t Look Like It, If You Follow The Odds
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers aren’t tipping their hand about whether the quarterback will play Sunday vs. the Minnesota Vikings.
Rodgers, who suffered a knee injury in Week 1 vs. the Chicago Bears, is questionable for this week’s NFC North tilt. Rodgers has said he hopes to play, while head coach Mike McCarthy has said it’s not a “layup” Rodgers will be under center Sunday.
The oddsmakers, however, see the Packers taking a conservative approach with Rodgers against the vaunted Vikings defense.
Online sportsbook BetDSI made odds for whether Rodgers will play Sunday, and it’s clear they don’t believe he’ll be out there for the Packers.
Per BetDSI:
Will Aaron Rodgers start in Week 2 vs. the Vikings?
Yes +280
No -350
“If Rodgers plays this week we’re looking at Green Bay as a 1- or 2-point home favorite. If he doesn’t, you’re going to see spreads anywhere from Vikings -7 to -9,” BetDSI head risk manager Brent Corobotiuc said in a statement. “There is a vast dropoff between Deshone Kizer and Aaron Rodgers, but it’s even greater this week due to the opponent being one of the best teams in football.”
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, a season-long competition where bettors make their five best picks of the week every week, released its weekly lines Wednesday. Despite the Packers holding as 1.5-point favorites (per OddsShark), the SuperContest lines (which aren’t updated after being released) have the Vikings as 7-point road favorites, clearly thinking Rodgers won’t play.
Of course, no one will be surprised to see Rodgers out there Sunday, either.
Mike McCarthy said Aaron Rodgers is "getting better."
"Id say he feels better than he did at the beginning of the week. "
McCarthy is hopeful Rodgers can do some work in practice tomorrow but "he can play with no reps."
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) September 14, 2018
