The Green Bay Packers have officially ruled receiver Christian Watson (knee), defensive end Lukas Van Ness (foot) and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (knee) out for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
This shouldn’t be much of a surprise, considering that neither Wyatt nor Van Ness practiced at this this week, and Watson was only ever a limited participant.
Without both Wyatt and Van Ness, the Packers’ defensive line will be thin, as they only have four healthy defensive tackles on the roster and also just four healthy defensive ends. Earlier this week, head coach Matt LaFleur questioned the conditioning of his line, which won’t be helped by these losses.
Beyond the player ruled out, the following players were listed as questionable by Green Bay: tackle Anthony Belton (ankle), cornerback Nate Hobbs (knee), running back Josh Jacobs (calf), kicker Brandon McManus (quad), offensive lineman Jacob Monk (hamstring), right tackle Zach Tom (oblique/back) and receiver Dontayvion Wicks (ankle). Belton, McManus and Monk didn’t play last week, while Tom played through an injury and Wicks was injured against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The new injuries here are with Hobbs and Jacobs. Hobbs was not listed on the injury report at all until Friday, when he was given a limited status. In all likelihood, Hobbs injured his knee in the non-padded practice on Friday. That’s not great, considering that he missed Week 1’s action after undergoing surgery to clean out a summer meniscus issue in his knee. If Hobbs is out, Carrington Valentine should start against the Cardinals.
Jacobs entered the week with an illness designation, but added a calf designation later on in the week. The good news is the running back was a full participant on Friday. Go ahead and assume that he’s going to play against Arizona.
On the Cardinals’ end of the injury report, quarterback Kyler Murray (foot) was listed as questionable after being a limited participant in both of the team’s practices this week. Arizona chose to host just a walkthrough on Wednesday, rather than a full practice.
With Arizona having a bye week next week, I doubt that the team will push Murray to return from a foot injury too quickly, considering how much of his game is built around his mobility, but the Cardinals, fresh off of four straight losses, also desperately need a win.
Beyond Murray, receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. cleared concussion protocol and will be playing against Green Bay. Running back Emari Demercado (ankle) was a non-participant throughout the week and has been ruled out versus the Packers, as has first-round defensive tackle Walter Nolen III (calf), whose 21-day practice window opened up this week.
