In Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers, the Green Bay Packers may be lacking in receivers due to injuries to Christian Watson and Jayden Reed.
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: Aaron Jones, the running back for the Green Bay Packers, is not listed as injured, but Christian Watson, another receiver, is questionable, and Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks are both doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
Although there remains uncertainty at receiver—neither Watson nor Reed participated in practice this week—the Packers’ backfield may be fully healthy. Jones worked out all week, hoping to improve on his 17 touches for 69 yards from a week ago when he was on a rep count in the Buccaneers game.
He appeared good all week, in my opinion. Following practice on Friday, coach Matt LaFleur stated, “He had no complaints.” “I hope he remains that way.”
AJ Dillon also practiced all week after missing the game the previous week due to a fractured thumb. Despite his dubious background, LaFleur declared, “I feel good where AJ’s at.”
Ben Sirmans, a veteran running backs coach, could not recall a single one of his backs suffering a fractured thumb while playing.
“I believe that pain tolerance plays a significant role,” he stated. “Obviously, having both hands is pretty important at the running back position, so it really comes down to how much stuff he can do with the injury and what he can do in general to see if that will make him viable for Sunday.”
Due to an injured toe, Reed, who has played through a number of injuries throughout the second half of the season, missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, Reed caught passes from a JUGS machine as his teammates warmed up for practice inside the Don Hutson Center.
Even though LaFleur said that Reed “was out there” for practice, he remained inside the Hutson Center and did not take part in it formally. It was not encouraging that he had not practiced all week for Sunday.
With 54 receptions, 592 yards, and eight touchdowns overall, Reed leads the club in receiving.
“I’m just learning how to be a pro and taking extra care of my body,” Reed stated. You will undoubtedly be much more sore now than you were at the start of the season. I’m merely attempting to strike a healthy balance between working out in the gym and receiving my mental workouts when they look after me.
Watson did not practice this week and missed the previous two games due to a hamstring issue.
According to Watson, “going through it twice in a season is definitely pretty high in terms of frustration.” “Having hamstring problems has made it difficult for me to miss even one game, let alone the several ones I’ve missed thus far. However, I can only control what I can now control because it’s out of my hands.
Reporters are limited to watching the players warm up inside the Hutson Center on Fridays. Both safety Darnell Savage and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell (shoulder) stayed indoors and are not expected to play on Sunday. Luke Musgrave, a tight end, is also expected to return from injured reserve on Thursday after suffering a kidney injury last month, but.
Seven players are questionable, including Reed, Dillon, defensive tackle TJ Slaton, receiver Dontayvion Wicks (playing despite an ankle injury), and cornerback Jaire Alexander (missing the last six games due to a shoulder injury).
Will Alexander’s big week finally come this week?
“We have hope. That’s how I’ll leave it, LaFleur said.
Watson is questionable, as are offensive lineman Luke Tenuta and running back Emanuel Wilson, who were supposed to return from injured reserve.
The Panthers’ injury report features just three players, none of whom are important players, compared to the Packers’ thirteen.
Two players with questionable stats are safety Sam Franklin (four starts, 99 yards pick-six) and tight end Ian Thomas (five starts, four receptions).
Despite missing practice at the beginning of the week due to sickness, outside linebacker Brian Burns—who has six sacks this week after seasons of 9.0, 9.0, and 12.5—is not listed as injured.
When Burns was the Pro Bowl coach, LaFleur witnessed his leadership in action.
