Mike Tomlin says Aaron Rodgers is expected to play next week vs. Bills

As the Steelers try to beat the team Aaron Rodgers owns with Mason Rudolph at quarterback, Rodgers is likely to play next week, against a team that bedeviled Rodgers during his time with the Jets.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told Fox's Jay Glazer on Sunday morning that Rodgers is expected to return from a fractured wrist next Sunday, at home against the Bills.

Glazer explained that Rodgers's non-throwing wrist was not displaced by the fracture, and that the concern (for now) is that Rodgers could suffer a season-ending displacement.

Rodgers's recent encounters with the Bills have not gone well. In 2023, Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the fourth play of the Monday night opener against Buffalo. (The Jets went on to win the game in overtime.) In 2024, the Bills swept Rodgers and the Jets, starting with the notorious Mike Williams "red line" mishap and ending with a late-season 40-14 blowout.

If the Steelers can beat the Bears on Sunday, both teams will be 7-4 when Buffalo comes to town in seven days, in a game with significant playoff implications for both teams.