Green Bay Packers vs New Orleans Saints: Aaron Rodgers & More Players Benched on Thursday Game

It was the Green Bay Packers' preseason finale game versus the New Orleans Saints on Thursday but there was no sign of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

According to ESPN, Rodgers has not participated in the last preseason game since 2012 though he played the first quarters of the first two preseason games this year.

In addition, 247 Sports noted that the quarterback is also among the 10 players whom the team did not allow to play at the Lambeau Field.

Other healthy players who were benched included linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers, wide receiver Davante Adams, running back Eddie Lacy, offensive linemen Bryan Bulaga, Josh Sitton and David Bakhtiari and defensive lineman B.J. Raji.

Some players, listed by ESPN below, were also not able to participate because of injuries:

    WR Randall Cobb (shoulder)

    DB Micah Hyde (neck)

    CB Demetri Goodson (knee)

    LB Sam Barrington (ankle)

    G T.J. Lang (concussion)

    WR Ty Montgomery (hamstring)

    DE Datone Jones (knee)

In an interview with Fox Sports, Rodgers said he is not really a fan of the league's preseason games as he noted that "a four-game exhibition schedule is too long" and that teams still need to prepare for the regular season.

"There are a lot of things that need to get looked at. The number of games is obviously one of them," the quarterback explained.

He added that playing four to five games is tough on the players.

"Obviously, it's important for young players to show what they can do. But a lot of times there's agreements between coaches to maybe not pressure the (quarterback) during a game or do a certain type of coverage, or there are agreements within organizations in game plans that you're not going to show different plays," Rodgers noted.

"How much of a real game are you really simulating? I'd say a lot less than people think," he also asked.

The quarterback earlier claimed that the preseason games are "meaningless" after wide receiver Jordy Nelson tore his ACL during a match with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He added with Fox Sports that it is hard finding a replacement for Nelson because he is "a great guy and teammate."

"His play on the field is exceptional. He does things that you just can't teach out there. You can't replace him with one guy. It's just not possible. You just have to have everyone else lift their level of play and try and make up for the loss, if that's possible. But you don't get better losing a guy like Jordy Nelson. You just try to get back to where you were when you had him," Rodgers explained.