Packers-Bears Playoff Practice Update: Serious Concern Shows Up

After resting almost all his key players last week, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur was anticipating a healthy roster for Saturday night’s wild-card playoff game at the Chicago Bears.

That might not be the case, though. Right tackle Zach Tom, who missed the last three games with a knee injury, did not practice on Thursday, the team’s final session before the playoffs.

LaFleur called it a “rest day,” which might be accurate but also isn’t encouraging.

Tom injured the knee during the first half of the loss at Denver. He was inactive for losses against Chicago, Baltimore and Minnesota the past three weeks.

At the start of the week, LaFleur said he anticipated that his injured starters would be back in the lineup for Saturday. After Wednesday’s practice, though, Tom said he wasn’t so sure.

“That was the plan,” he said. “No, I’d just say it’s too early to tell. I’ve got to see how I’m feeling tomorrow.”

Tomorrow is here, and Tom didn’t practice. Tom, who finished third in All-Pro voting among right tackles last year and hasn’t allowed a sack this year, was limited participation at all three practices last week and was again on Wednesday.

“He’s looked good in practice,” LaFleur said. “Like I tell you all the time, we’ll give him up till gametime and, if he can go, he’ll be out there.”

After practice on Wednesday, Tom said he felt “better” but “not great.” He said “ask me after the Super Bowl” about needing end-of-season surgery.

Everybody else on the 53-man roster practiced, including receiver Dontayvion Wicks, who officially remains in the concussion protocol.

Typically, the Packers end the practice week by warming up inside the Don Hutson Center before going out to Clarke Hinkle Field for practice. Reporters get to see the warmup but the rest of practice is off-limits. On Thursday, the team was set to practice inside Lambeau Field. It was closed to reporters, with the exception of pool reporter Tom Silverstein of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“There’s nothing top secret about it,” LaFleur said. “I think a lot of it is just the grass at Lambeau is better than that on our practice field. It hasn’t been great on the practice field this year. I think a lot of it is due to the weather and the amount of precipitation we’ve gotten, so it’s a little bit softer. Lambeau’s in better shape, so we’d rather go there.”

Latest Bears Injury News

The Bears anticipate getting two starters back in the lineup, with nickel Kyler Gordon and receiver Rome Odunze practicing this week.

Gordon missed the start and the end of the regular season due to injuries and has played only 117 snaps. The Bears placed him on injured reserve after he suffered a groin injury in the game at Lambeau Field. He was designated for return from injured reserve this week and could replace veteran slot C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who’s in the concussion protocol.

“Just a very experienced veteran that’s played primarily inside,” LaFleur said. “I know he’s only played in three games this year, but we’ve gone against him a bunch. I just think he’s a really good football player. It definitely alleviates some of the stress, I would say, if they don’t have Chauncey.”

Odunze missed both games against Green Bay and the final five games of the regular season with a foot injury. He finished fourth on the team with 44 receptions – he’s one of seven with at least 30 – third with 661 yards and is tied for first with six touchdowns.

He’ll be part of a balanced offensive attack that will go against a Packers defense that lost Micah Parsons to a torn ACL at Denver. The team lost that game and the next three.

“Obviously, losing a player of that caliber, things have to change just a little bit,” Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle told reporters on Wednesday. “You’ve seen some tweaks schematically. Early on, they were trying to really put you in these one-on-one situations where they could get Micah isolated. They have shifted slightly and yet the rest of the unit is still a really good unit.

“They’re good on defense. They’re good on the back end. I think the front is very talented certainly, and the backers fly around. We certainly feel like they’re a worthy adversary. Our hands will be full and yet we feel like we can go out and attack this defense.”

The teams will release the final injury reports of the week after their Thursday practices. For now, here are the injury reports from Wednesday.

Packers Injury Report

Injured reserve: WR/CB Bo Melton (knee).

Reverted to injured reserve after return-to-play window closed: G John Williams (back).

Did not participate: None.

Limited: DT Warren Brinson (foot), S Javon Bullard (knee), LB Nick Niemann (pectoral), RT Zach Tom (back/knee), WR Dontayvion Wicks (concussion), QB Malik Willis (right shoulder/hamstring).

Full: LB Edgerrin Cooper (shoulder), WR Matthew Golden (Achilles), DE Lukas Van Ness (foot).

Bears Injury Report

DNP: DT Grady Jarrett (rest), DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson (concussion), LB Amen Ogbongbemiga (concussion), DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (concussion).

Limited: CB Kyler Gordon (groin), CB Jaylon Jones (ankle), WR D.J. Moore (knee), WR Rome Odunze (foot), OT Ozzy Trapilo (quad).

Full: OT Braxton Jones (knee), DB Nick McCloud (illness), WR Jahdae Walker (illness).

Note: Gordon and Jones have been designated for return from injured reserve and are in their 21-day practice windows.