Green Bay hasn’t made much progress on the injury front since last week
The hope was that the Green Bay Packers would have gotten a little healthier between the team’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings and the start of their preparation against the Chicago Bears. Unfortunately, that has yet to materialize.
All five of the players who were unable to suit up against Minnesota, receiver Christian Watson (knee), cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee), linebacker Quay Walker (ankle), safety Evan Williams (quad) and backup tackle Andre Dillard (concussion) were non-participants during Wednesday’s practice. Joining them were defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. (undisclosed) and safety Zayne Anderson (concussion). Anderson got the start at safety versus the Vikings, due to Williams being out, but was knocked out of the game early.
If we’re making guesses today, assuming these players don’t have a quick health turnaround, this would mean that the second and third levels of the Packers’ defense will be thin. Eric Wilson would again have to start as a middle linebacker for Walker, while rookie Javon Bullard would be pushed from the slot to a starting safety position. Because Bullard would be moved from the slot, this would mean Keisean Nixon would have to play inside, meaning that Carrington Valentine and Eric Stokes would be the full-time outside cornerbacks in at least nickel sets.
Last week, the Vikings ate up the Packers in the middle of the field, gaining most of their yards between the numbers, so the linebacker, nickel and safety positions couldn’t be more of a concern for the team going into the postseason stretch.
Beyond the non-participants, left guard Elgton Jenkins was limited today. This is not uncommon, as he typically gets veteran rest early on in the week. Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, who left the Vikings game with a concussion evaluation, was back in practice as a full participant.
Head coach Matt LaFleur said earlier in the week that the plan is to play the team’s starters against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Today, he stressed that the team doesn’t have much of a choice. With seven players currently unable to practice, their 53-man roster would only have 46 players able to suit up for a game today. On game days, teams are allowed to dress a maximum of 48 players, including two practice squad call-ups. Green Bay barely has enough players to make up a full game-day roster right now, let alone enough healthy bodies to sit their starters across the board.