The Pittsburgh Steelers can’t seem to catch a break with pre-game injuries. After dealing with setbacks in Week 6, the same story is repeating itself in Week 9. Aaron Rodgers was seen flexing his right leg during warmups, hinting at a possible tweak

Former QB Tony Romo chimed in on the broadcast, saying, “We’re speculating, but most likely it happened when he took a snap from the backup center.”

Romo suggested that one awkward exchange might’ve been enough to cause the scare.

He speculated that the wide receiver might have injured his hand while taking a snap.“You sometimes take a snap from backup center… he jams your finger, the backup center jams your finger a lot more than the starting one does.” Romo further explained.

As it turns out, Romo’s assumption was spot on. As explained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo. He mentioned that Rodger jammed his finger while taking a snap from starting center Zach Frazier.

“Zach Frazier just snapped the ball to Aaron Rodgers in pregame warm-ups, and Rodgers appeared to jam one of his fingers. He slammed the ball down on the grass and massaged his fingers before taking the next snap from under center,” Fittipaldo tweeted.

Fortunately, it wasn’t another setback for the Steelers. Rodgers wasn’t ruled out of the Week 9 game against the Indianapolis Colts, and he took the field to start the first quarter.

Losing Rodgers would have been a significant blow to the Steelers, especially right before facing a strong and in-form team like the Indianapolis Colts.

Rodgers has been spectacular this season. He has thrown for 1,489 yards with 16 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Even in losses, he stayed productive, which is why any injury scare is worrying. If he misses time, the Steelers will need to rely on backups and quickly adjust their offense to stay in contention.

Options for the Steelers if Rodgers is injured

The Steelers were fortunate that Rodgers wasn’t ruled out, but they need to be ready if a similar issue sidelines him in the future. The bad news is the Steelers don’t have a lot of depth in terms of quarterbacks.

Mason Rudolph is currently the only healthy backup. Rookie Will Howard has entered his 21-day injury reserve practice window, but he’s still listed on IR and not yet eligible to play. The Steelers have one more week to bring him back to the roster after a training injury. 

Howard suffered a hand injury during training camp while taking a snap, and he has been out of action since then. The Steelers have already released Logan Woodside from their practice squad, and QB Skylar Thompson is dealing with a hamstring injury, adding to the IR list.

While the Steelers head into their game against the Colts with a strong offense, they will have to test their depleted QB depth. One more setback could send them scrambling. At the moment, keeping Rodgers healthy is of utmost importance to keep the season alive.