GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Now we know why the Green Bay Packers are preparing backup quarterback Matt Flynn to start again on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers experienced more pain than he expected when he returned to practice last week. That, combined with a scan that did not show enough healing in his broken collarbone, was enough to hold Rodgers out again last Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
Unless both things change this week, Rodgers won't play in Sunday's game at the Dallas Cowboys.
"We would need a different results and different responses to be able to get on the field this week," Rodgers said Tuesday on his ESPN 540 Milwaukee radio show.
Flynn kept the Packers in the playoff hunt with their first win since Rodgers was injured on Nov. 4 against the Chicago Bears. With three games remaining, the Packers (6-6-1) are one-half game behind the NFC North co-leading Detroit Lions (7-6) and Chicago Bears (7-6).
Rodgers said he lifted weights under the watch of the strength and conditioning coaches on Tuesday and plans to practice again Wednesday.
Last week, Rodgers went through individual drills but said he knew shortly after Wednesday's practice that he would be unlikely to play against the Falcons. Rodgers said he was able to throw the ball without any discomfort, but things changed when he had to move around during full-speed drill work. Tasks such as taking a snap and handing off with his left arm, which is the side of the collarbone that was fractured, were painful.
"I shouldn't be having pain doing some of the simple movements," Rodgers said.
Rodgers said he curtailed some of his practice activities after Wednesday's workout did not go as well as he had hoped.
"That was kind of my clue that I'm obviously not ready," Rodgers said. "The way that scan looked and the discomfort I had made me know I wasn't ready."
Rodgers said he has not been scanned since that test last week and said he did not know whether he could be cleared without having that test repeated.
"I'm going to practice tomorrow and try and do some of things I did last week without pain," Rodgers said. "See how my body responds to it on Thursday and go from there."