The practice week has ended for the Green Bay Packers, a five day stretch that was more about a medical practice than football. They will take the healthy bodies to Cincinnati for an important inter-conference game against the Bengals Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium with both teams sporting a 301 record.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur met the media one last time before game day to reveal his starting center is the latest in a line of key players who won’t be able to go. Rookie Josh Myers had his right pinkie finger wrapped all week and never took a snap at practice. Who will step in at center is anyone’s guess. LaFleur said he’ll let everyone know at Noon Central time. In order, LaFleur explained the situation with Myers, the possible return of Pro Bowl guard Elgton Jenkins and a big decision regarding the shoulder injury to another Pro Bowler, Jaire Alexander.
LaFleur said injured reserve is still a possibility for Alexander which would force him to miss three more weeks at a minimum.
As for the offensive line…
The Packers could put Jenkins back at left tackle where he opened the season for the injured David Bakhtiari, in place of Yosh Nijman who has played respectably well. They also could keep Nijman rolling and get Jenkins back in at left guard where he played all last season, sitting Jon Runyan down. He also chipped in at center in 2020 but that might be a long shot. My guess is Lucas Patrick will get the call for snapping the ball with Jenkins at tackle because of Cincinnati’s solid edge rushers.
The Alexander situation is interesting as the team will roll the dice that the AC Joint sprain will heal sufficiently on it’s own. A level one sprain usually requires anywhere from 1-3 weeks, a level two sprain could take 4-6 weeks. The Packers have to be hoping it won’t be much longer than say, Thanksgiving time.
As for the rest of the end of week medical charts.
Chauncey Rivers of course landed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL at practice Wednesday. The only other questionable player is veteran tackle Dennis Kelly who came down ill this week and also apparently dealing with a back injury.
Several players who were limited or full participants during the week have no designation for Sunday and are expected to play, including Krys Barnes and Kevin King who are working their way through the concussion protocol. Aaron Jones, A.J. Dillon, Marcedes Lewis, Dean Lowry and Issac Yiadom were also on the final injury report of the week.
Hello number 9!
Jaylon Smith all smiles after first Packers practice.
The newest acquisition arrived today. Linebacker Jaylon Smith, donning his college number 9, practiced for the first time. After paying handsomely to switch from 54 to 9 in Dallas this year before he was cut by the Cowboys after five plus seasons, Smith was able to convince practice squad kicker J.J Molson to give up his number for number 11.
The Cowboys saw only diminishing returns from the former second round pick out of Notre Dame in 2016 even after signing him to a sizeable extension two years ago. Dallas will still pick up 7.2 million dollars of Smith’s salary in 2021 with Green Bay covering the veteran minimum of $770,000.00 for the final 13 weeks.
In his first appearance at the media auditorium microphone, Smith talked about coming north from Dallas, getting a crash course in the new defense and bonding with his new teammates.
Smith is happy to be reunited with LaFleur who was on the Notre Dame coaching staff when Jaylon was a sophomore. He said he learned a lot from the Pack’s coach and their relationship has continued to grow over the years.
It was his senior year he’d like to forget. Smith suffered a serious knee injury but was still drafted by the Cowboys in the second round in 2016, knowing he wouldn’t even be ready to play until 2017. When he did recover, Smith was a mainstay in the starting lineup with 48 consecutive starts over three years racking up more than 400 tackles. Dallas drafted two inside backers this year and apparently felt Smith was slowing down with his rebuilt knee and they were ready to move on.
Jaylon felt awfully comfortable in his green and gold jersey, the same colors he wore on his middle school team.
He said he’s “Thankful to be able to play at the place I want to play, with the Green Bay Packers.”
And when asked what kind of player he thinks he still is, Smith didn’t hesitate, “Elite, elite”, he answered.
The Packers sure hope so.
