Aaron Rodgers Injury: Green Bay QB To Undergo Collarbone Surgery

Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers is expected to undergo surgery to repair a break in his injured collarbone, Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Monday.

"Aaron Rodgers suffered a significant injury in the game," McCarthy told reporters. "It will require surgery. He'll be out a minimum of a significant amount of time. Potentially, his season can be over. He'll have surgery here in the near future. After we see how that goes, focus on getting better and healthy — that's all that really matters right now."

McCarthy didn’t indicate if Rodgers season was over and the quarterback didn’t make the injury reserve list Monday. If Rodgers is added to the list, it means he could miss at least eight weeks.

"The key is to get Aaron healthy, it's not to develop a timeline. That's not the focus," McCarthy said when asked about a timetable for Rodgers' return.

Rodgers, 33, suffered the injury to the collarbone of his throwing arm during Sunday’s 23-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings when he was speared into the ground by linebacker Anthony Barr.

The Packers quarterback got onto his feet and scolded Barr following the play but was ultimately carted into the locker room after an examination from officials. Barr wasn’t penalized for the play that most, including McCarthy, disagreed with.

"I didn't like the hit," McCarthy said. "I had a chance to watch it last night on the plane. He's out of the pocket. He's clearly expecting to get hit, but to pin him to the ground like that, I felt was an illegal act. To sit here and lose any of your players on something like that doesn't feel very good. I didn't like the hit. It was unnecessary, illegal, whatever you want to put it. It was totally unnecessary in my opinion."

As soon as Rodgers hit the turf, McCarthy said it was obvious that his player had been injured.

"We all knew," McCarthy said. "I knew he was injured. I think he knew right away."

Rodgers missed seven games in 2013 when he injured his left collarbone and did not have surgery. This time, he is expected to miss more games because it's his throwing shoulder that's been broken.

With their star quarterback sidelined, the Packers (4-2) will insert Brett Hundley into the starting role. The team also signed backup quarterback Joe Callahan Monday as a promotion from the practice squad.

McCarthy spoke buoyantly of his replacement quarterbacks, adding that they could get the job done in Rodgers absence.

"I've got three years invested in Brett Hundley. I've got great confidence in Brett Hundley," McCarthy said. "I've got two years invested in Joe Callahan. It's a quarterback room that has structure and there is a philosophy behind the development of it and it will be applied to the game plan. So, I feel great about the room. That's not really a concern of mine. I'm more focused on getting back to playing Green Bay football because yesterday was not anything where we need it to be."

Hundley, who substituted for Rodgers during the loss to the Vikings, will make his NFL start in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field.

"We're fired up to go get them Saints," McCarthy added. "We're looking forward to playing again after what happened [against the Vikings]."