The Green Bay Packers have officially ruled out defensive lineman Warren Brinson (calf), who has yet to practice for the team in the regular season, for their contest against the New York Jets on Sunday. The good news? Brinson was the only player who is absolutely a no-go this week.
The only player that the Packers listed as doubtful on Friday was defensive lineman Javon Hargrave, who, according to head coach Matt LaFleur, is in the concussion protocol as a result of Week 1’s action. Hargrave was a limited
participant on Wednesday, but he was a non-participant on Thursday and Friday.
Usually, having the two biggest injuries on the team at one position means there needs to be some shuffling going on, but since the Packers oversigned players on the defensive line early in the season, they still have five healthy players in the unit going into their game against the Jets. Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks and Jonathan Ford should be the starters in the team’s 3-4 defense, as they were in Week 1, with third-round rookie Chris McClellan being the top backup off the bench — instead of Hargrave — and preseason star Anthony Campbell should make his NFL regular-season debut this week after being a healthy scratch against the Minnesota Vikings.
Players listed as limited by Green Bay going into Week 2’s action are right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele (knee), left guard Aaron Banks (knee), edge defender Lukas Van Ness (concussion) and cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (hamstring). St-Juste apparently got hurt in practice, as he was not on the injury report either Wednesday or Thursday, but was added as a limited participant on Friday.
The Packers have 10 offensive linemen on their 53-man roster, so they can handle the Bak0-Bewele and Banks injuries internally, at least in terms of numbers, without having to dip into the practice squad. If Van Ness can’t go, there should be a call-up at the position, as the team only is carring Barryn Sorrell, Brenton Cox Jr. and rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton on the 53-man roster. Just to get through the game, it seems like Green Bay is going to have to call up either rookie Nyjalik Kelly or special teams ace Arron Mosby if Van Ness can’t suit up. Usually, practice squad call-ups happen on Saturday, so we should get a better feel for where the Packers stand tomorrow’s travel day.
Linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper (Achilles), edge defender Barryn Sorrell (foot) and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt (ankle) were all cleared for Sunday’s action today. Hopper missed Week 1, which led to Kristian Welch being called up from the practice squad. Assume that an edge rusher and potentially cornerback Domani Jackson, depending on St-Juste’s status, are the prime practice squad call-up candidates this weekend.
On the Jets’ end of the injury report, they’ve already ruled out receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (ankle), safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (groin), running back/returner Kene Nwangwu (back) and edge defender Joseph Ossai (foot), which was expected. Nwangwu and Ossai weren’t able to play last week, and Cooper and Fitzpatrick both suffered early Week 1 injuries.
Listed as questionable is edge defender Will McDonald IV, who injured his ankle in practice this week. He was a full participant on Wednesday, but the designated pass-rusher was limited on both Thursday and Friday. Interestingly, rookie second-round pick D’Angelo Ponds, who has missed a lot of time recently with a calf injury, has been given no status going into the game. Ponds wasn’t able to play in Week 1, so it’s uncertain how he’ll fit into the Jets’ pecking order in the secondary.
