The decision to start Aaron Rodgers or Mason Rudolph will truly be last-minute. With the Pittsburgh Steelers earnestly still unclear who will get the nod today against the Chicago Bears hours before kickoff, ESPN’s Dan Graziano says the team will see how Rodgers looks and feels once he arrives to Soldier Field.
“They’re gonna let Aaron Rodgers get here, see how he feels, and make a decision based on that,” Graziano said on SportsCenter Sunday morning. “Whether it’s going to be him or Mason Rudolph this afternoon for the Bears at quarterback.”
As of his live shot, Graziano said Steelers buses were about 20-25 minutes away from arriving at the stadium.
Rodgers is trying to play through a fracture in his left wrist suffered in last Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He missed Wednesday’s session before being limited Thursday and Friday while wearing a brace on his left hand/wrist. Video from local reporters showed Rodgers still able to grip the ball with his injured arm, but the team has to feel comfortable with him handling snaps under center, handoffs to running backs, and protecting himself from hits and when he falls.
“The Steelers people I was talking with last night said they’re probably gonna take it up to game time,” Graziano said. “They said it’s going to be up to Aaron and his comfort level, how he feels about his ability to play and function and protect himself with that fracture in his left wrist.”
Per Bears’ beat writer Brad Biggs, Rodgers took the field a short time ago with teammates. It’s still unclear if he plays.
#Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers walking the perimeter of the field right now with a teammate. He’s pointing to different areas on the field and in the stands. We’ll see if he does a pregame workout with the left wrist injury.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) November 23, 2025
SportsCenter shared a clip of Rodgers on the field with WR Ben Skowronek, hiding his injured left wrist in his hoodie pocket.
Per Graziano, Rodgers flipped off cameras focused on him after arriving.
Aaron Rodgers arrived at Solider Field about 20 minutes ago, walked one lap around the field, flipped off a couple of the cameras that were filming and went back inside. Used his right hand to flip the bird, so unclear if he could do it with his left. Status for today’s game…
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) November 23, 2025
Friday, head coach Mike Tomlin said the decision would essentially be left up to Rodgers and doctors. As Graziano and others have noted, Rodgers is pushing to play. Partially due to his competitive nature and track record playing through injuries and perhaps partially due to a desire to play Chicago at their place one final time. Rodgers has had immense career regular season success against the Bears, posting a 24-5 record with 64 touchdowns.
Pittsburgh’s inactives will be issued minutes after 11:30 AM/EST. That should offer clarity, though there’s still a scenario in which Rudolph starts and Rodgers is the backup, similar to Ben Roethlisberger in a 2015 game against the Cleveland Browns. That would prevent rookie Will Howard, who has yet to take a preseason or regular season snap inside a stadium, from being the No. 2 and one snap away from entering the game.