The roster moves and lineup juggling continue at a furious pace as the Green Bay Packers get ready to face the Chicago Bears for the 203rd time in the storied rivalry on Sunday at Solider Field.
While the medical news is getting a little better on the offensive side of the ball, there are still some primary concerns about the secondary.
Kevin King hasn’t practiced yet this week with a shoulder injury suffered against the Cincinnati Bengals last weekend. He played with it as long as he could before eventually exiting for good in the fourth quarter.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur said they’ll give through the end of the week before they make a determination on his availability. It’s not so much King’s tolerance for pain but rather the functionality of his range of motion. LaFleur felt King played hard even down to one arm but they don’t want to put him at risk if there are still some limitations. Already without Pro Bowl corner Jaire Alexander, the Packers secondary might have an unusual look on the corners this week.
Issac Yiadom (24) and Eric Stokes (21) work out Thursday.
The starting cornerbacks could well be former Giant veteran Issac Yiadom who played 24 snaps against the Bengals and top draft pick Eric Stokes who’s learning curve has accelerated rapidly since Alexander landed on injured reserve after damaging his shoulder against Steelers.
The offensive line on the other hand, is nearing full strength as Elgton Jenkins (ankle) and Josh Myers (finger) have returned to the practice field. “They’re both progressing”, LaFleur said on Thursday and while Myers is expected back at center, where Jenkins returns is still up in the air. Will he replace Yosh Nijman at left tackle where he started the season for David Bakhtiari? Nijman has held his own on the edge so Jenkins might go to his Pro Bowl position of left guard.
Offensive line coach Adam Stenavich said Wednesday, “we’re having those conversations.” A decision will be made before the team departs for the Windy City.
Equanimeous St. Brown has been promoted from the practice squad to the 53 man roster full time. St. Brown has been a game day call-up three times in the first five weeks, once as a COVID replacement for Tyler Lancaster and twice as a game day fill in. He has one catch on the year.
With an opening on the practice squad, the Packers have signed 7 year veteran defensive back Quinton Dunbar to give them a little more veteran insurance in the secondary. Dunbar spent his first five years in Washington before getting traded to Seattle in 2020 when he appeared in six games. Dunbar has logged 64 games with 31 starts in his career.
The early season stakes are high in the renewal of the NFL’s oldest rivalry. The Packers lead the NFC North at 4-1 while the Bears are on their heels at 3-2, having won back to back starts with rookie quarter Justin Fields. He will be the 17th different starting quarterback trotted out by the Bears since Aaron Rodgers became Green Bay’s QB in 2008.
The rivalry has been pretty one sided of late. The Packers lead the regular season series 100-94-6. They’ve split two post-season games, Chicago winning the Western Division Playoff in 1941 by a 33-14 score while the Packers captured the NFC Championship in Chicago with a 14-10 victory in January of 2011.
Green Bay fell behind in the series after Curly Lambeau’s run of three straight NFL titles in the late 20’s and early 30’s. The Bears continued to pull away and when Brett Favre lost his first start against Chicago in 1992, the Bears had a 24 game lead over Green Bay. First Favre, and then Rodgers, have dominated the Monsters of the Midway ever since and Aaron talked about seizing control of the great rivalry this week.
Outside of the strike year in 1982, which cancelled both Packer-Bear games that season, and the pandemic of 2020, I haven’t missed a chapter of the rivalry in either Green Bay or Chicago since 1980. Can’t wait for the next chapter to be written this weekend.
