GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers already made it clear how he feels about preseason games, so it surely wouldn't break his heart if he doesn't take another snap before the Green Bay Packers' regular-season opener on Sept. 13 at Chicago.
With three of his five starting offensive linemen likely out for Saturday's preseason home opener against the Eagles, that's probably not a bad idea.
In Wednesday's practice, Rodgers' reps were lighter than they've been all training camp -- he took only the first snap in most team drills and no more than three in the others. That could be a sign coach Mike McCarthy does not plan to play him at all the rest of the preseason, which finishes with a Sept. 3 game against the Saints.
McCarthy pulled Rodgers after the first quarter of Sunday's game at Pittsburgh after backup left tackle Don Barclay allowed Rodgers to get sacked for a safety. Rodgers took a hit on his right hand and was seen icing it on the sideline. After the game, the one in which receiver Jordy Nelson was lost for the season because of a knee injury, Rodgers referred to preseason games as "meaningless."
"Every decision that's made any time our players take the field -- whether it's practice, games -- is done with risk assessment," McCarthy said Wednesday. "Every decision that has been made to this point, I'm very comfortable with the assessment of the risk."
If Rodgers played this week, it likely would be without left tackle David Bakhtiari (knee) plus starting guards Josh Sitton (ankle) and T.J. Lang (concussion) -- none of whom practiced this week.
When asked if he would be ready for Week 1 if he didn't get any more work in the preseason, Rodgers said: "I'm happy where we're at. We have some guys banged up right now, so not sure what the playing time will be, but whatever Mike decides I'm confident we'll be ready when the season starts."
Backup quarterback Scott Tolzien (concussion) also isn't expected to play, meaning third-stringers Brett Hundley and Matt Blanchard could split the quarterback snaps.
"I think it's going to be a big night for both of those guys," McCarthy said.
Here are some other notes from Wednesday's practice:
Hundley's turn: Hundley ran the 2-minute drill and couldn't lead a group of backups past the defense's 44-yard line. The drive, which began at his own 35 with 58 seconds left and one timeout in a 28-24 game, ended when defensive end Bruce Gaston sacked Hundley on third-and-1. Hundley's longest completion on the drive was a 9-yard pass to Jimmie Hunt.
Punting issues: Tim Masthay had another up-and-down session. Although he averaged 48.0 yards and 4.18 seconds of hang time on 13 punts, his kicks ranged from a best of 59 yards with 4.82 seconds of hang time to a worst of 39 yards with 3.19 seconds of hang time. It mirrored his performance against the Steelers. "Tim, just relax and go punt, just go do it," special teams coordinator Ron Zook said. "We all know he can do it, he's done it. We've just got to work through this and go from there."
No kicking issues: Mason Crosby made all six of his field goals -- ranging from 33 to 52 yards -- to run his camp-long record to 51-of-56. He's made both of his preseason game kicks (25 and 55 yards).
Rip city: Rookie fullback Aaron Ripkowski has a team-high four special-teams tackles in the two preseason games combined, so it was no surprise that the sixth-round pick was back on the No. 1 kickoff cover team. "He’s also been a guy that on the first two kickoffs of both games was not where he was supposed to be," Zook said. "Now this past game he came back and made the tackle."
Medical report: In addition to the three offensive linemen, Nelson and Tolzien, the Packers also were without receiver Javess Blue (shoulder), tight end Justin Perillo (concussion), receiver Jared Abbrederis (concussion) and defensive end Datone Jones (ankle). In addition, running back Alonzo Harris (hand) dropped out.
