The Green Bay Packers will have a walkthrough practice on Tuesday, as the team prepares for its short turnaround to play the Chicago Bears. Because of the nature of playing a Saturday road game, the Packers will have to end
up traveling on Friday, meaning that all of their on-field work will need to be done by Thursday.
Below is what Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur said about the team’s practice schedule this week, during his Tuesday press conference:
[Tuesday will] be primarily a walkthrough, jog-through tempo. Just with the number of guys we had playing in and having the short week. Definitely wanted to do a little bit more, but following the advice of our medical staff. Then we’ll have two really good days coming up here.
LaFleur added that the team will have a padded practice on Wednesday, which wasn’t a given. Under the current rules, NFL teams are only allowed to have 11 total padded practices over the first 11 weeks of the regular season, with just 3 padded practices allowed in the final 7 weeks. Clubs are permitted to have one padded practice each week of the playoffs, but not every team takes advantage of that.
On the injury front, LaFleur gave us some updates on key injuries, too. In total, the Packers were out three players in Week 18, guys who were held out completely with injuries, and also had two more drop out during the regular-season finale’s action. Let’s take you through them.
On the subject of quarterback Malik Willis (shoulder/hamstring, out in Week 18), LaFleur said that he “anticipates” that Willis will be the backup. If that’s the case, the Packers could move off third quarterback Clayton Tune, which would free up a roster spot on the 53-man roster. If that happens, the most likely player to come up is linebacker Nick Neimann, a special teams ace who has been designated to return from the injured reserve.
Wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks hasn’t completely cleared the concussion protocol after suffering his injury in Week 17 against the Baltimore Ravens. Right tackle Zach Tom (knee/back), who hasn’t played since midway through the Denver Broncos game in Week 15, is expected to play this week, per LaFleur. Jordan Morgan had subbed in for Tom as an injury replacement over the last month.
LaFleur wasn’t asked about the status of receiver/cornerback Bo Melton (knee) or safety Javon Bullard (knee), the two players who went down on Sunday and didn’t return to action. After the game, though, both LaFleur and Bullard said that the belief is the safety will be “okay.” There have been no updates on Melton.
If Bullard weren’t able to go, the Packers would likely use Kitan Oladapo (who is the team’s fifth preferred safety when everyone is healthy) to play in the slot this week. If you want a full breakdown of Green Bay’s depth chart, you can find that HERE.
