While on “The Pat McAfee Show,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter stated that the Green Bay Packers are “not overly optimistic” that left guard Aaron Banks or right tackle Zach Tom will be playing on Thursday Night Football against the Washington Commanders. Both Banks and Tom were injured last week against the Detroit Lions and were unable to finish the game. They are among five players who were listed as questionable by Green Bay on Wednesday for their final injury report of the week
.Jordan Morgan, who rotated in at right guard when the offensive line was healthy, will kick out to left guard if Banks doesn’t play. This will allow Sean Rhyan to take on a game’s worth of snaps at right guard. Morgan had played left tackle, left guard and right guard during training camp and the preseason.
At right tackle, Darian Kinnard, whom the Packers recently traded for from the Philadelphia Eagles, got the majority of the snaps at the position once Tom left the lineup in Week 1. Second-round rookie Anthony Belton received three snaps on one drive for Green Bay last week in between Kinnard drives.
If both Banks and Tom are inactive, then the Packers’ offensive line depth for this game will just be Belton and Donovan Jennings, as it stands on the 53-man roster right now. The NFL’s rules for gameday actives state that teams can have 47 players available, but the team gets a free exemption for a 48th player if that final player is an 8th offensive lineman.
Green Bay has options if they don’t want to start Tom and Banks, from a roster construction standpoint. They can keep one as their 8th lineman as a break in case of emergency type of player, or they can call up one of their two practice squad offensive linemen — Brant Banks and Dalton Cooper — against Washington. Banks has been with the Packers since signing as an undrafted rookie last April. Cooper was picked up after cutdowns via the Kansas City Chiefs.
Last week, Green Bay used only one of its two allotted practice squad call-ups. They brought up cornerback Micah Robinson, who played zero snaps on defense and didn’t get on the field on special teams, either.
