LG Elgton Jenkins (MCL) is officially out.
In his post-practice presser on Friday, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur announced that left guard Elgton Jenkins (MCL) and safety Zayne Anderson (hamstring) are going to miss action against the New Orleans Saints. He also noted that running back Aaron jones (hamstring), receiver Christian Watson (hamstring), left tackle David Bakhtiari (knee), outside linebacker Lukas Van Ness (elbow) and cornerback Jaire Alexander (back) are listed as questionable going into the game. If you’re looking for some good news here, outside linebacker Rashan Gary — who is recovering from an ACL tear — was not given an injury designation today.
The fact that Jenkins’ injury is costing him this week isn’t a surprise, as it was confirmed shortly after last week’s game against the Atlanta Falcons that the team’s preferred starting left guard went down with an MCL sprain. That will keep him dressed down for a couple of games. Earlier this week, LaFleur called it a “week-to-week” injury that will not lead to Jenkins going on the short-term injured reserve.
Anderson’s inactivity shouldn’t impact the Packers’ game plan, as he was a healthy scratch in the first two games of the season after being claimed off of waivers at cutdowns. The new injury out of this group is to Alexander. When LaFleur was asked about Alexander’s status, the head coach said, “His back was acting up a little bit. We’ll monitor that and see where he’s at.”
Both Watson and Jones were limited participants in practice on Friday, which hopefully means that they’ll be on the field against the Saints. Watson hasn’t been able to play a single snap of the regular season so far and Jones missed last week’s game against the Falcons. Without Jones, the Packers recorded just 19 carries for 61 yards with their running backs on Sunday. Jones remains the team-leading receiver in yardage, despite the fact that he’s only played 28 offensive snaps this season.
For anyone looking for clarification on Bakhtiari’s injury and status, LaFleur is not going to give you anything. When questioned, several times, about Bakhtiari’s situation, LaFleur responded, “We’ll see on gameday,” multiple times.
The Saints have yet to release a final injury report for the week, but the only player in New Orleans who was a non-participant on Thursday was running back Jamaal Williams (hamstring). With Alvin Kamara out with a suspension, the next backs up for the Saints are rookie third-round pick Kendre Miller — who missed the first two games of the season with a hamstring injury — and Tony Jones Jr. — who has been called up from the practice squad.