Packers Facing Growing Injuries With Love, Key Players Sidelined

The Green Bay Packers are dealing with a wave of injuries just weeks before the regular season. On Tuesday, the team saw two more players leave practice early — adding to a long list of sidelined starters.

During the session, tight end Luke Musgrave caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Malik Willis but later limped off the field after rolling his right ankle. Earlier in the same practice, receiver Romeo Doubs went down hard, stayed on the turf for several minutes, and left holding his lower back.

Both players said after practice they expect to be fine, but the timing wasn’t ideal. Quarterback Jordan Love was already set to undergo surgery on his left thumb, and the Packers were missing five other potential starters or key contributors.

“Right now, I don’t,” head coach Matt LaFleur said. “We’re missing a lot of key players that are integral to our success as a football team. It is what it is. It’s an opportunity for some other guys, but we definitely had some injuries strike up at some positions where it’s made us pretty thin.”

Receiver Room Hit Hard

The team’s biggest problem is at wide receiver. Jayden Reed (foot) and Dontayvion Wicks (calf) have been out since early in camp, with Reed wearing a walking boot since Saturday. Christian Watson (knee) remains on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from a torn right ACL.

General manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed Watson will likely begin the season on PUP, meaning he’ll miss at least the first four games. The 24-year-old is only eight months removed from surgery, and while his recovery is ahead of schedule, the team doesn’t want to rush him.

“I mean it’s tough because when you see him run … want to throw him out there, right?” Gutekunst said. “But there’s kind of a timeline with these ACLs and he’s ahead of the curve, there’s no doubt about it. But at the same time, he’s got a long career in front of him, so we want to make sure we take the proper steps and we don’t skip any steps along the way.

“I think more than likely he’ll start the year on the PUP. After that fourth game I’m sure he’s going to be champing at the bit and it’s going take a lot of us to hold him back.”

When Doubs left Tuesday’s practice, all four of last year’s top receivers were unavailable. That left rookies Matthew Golden and Savion Williams, along with Malik Heath, as the top three options. The rest of the group — Julian Hicks, Will Sheppard, Isaiah Neyor, and Mecole Hardman — have little or no NFL experience.

“Yeah, we’ve got to stay healthy,” Musgrave said. “It sucks seeing guys go down, so gotta stay healthy.”

Injuries Across the Roster

The secondary is also thin. Cornerback Nate Hobbs, signed this offseason to a $48 million contract, had knee surgery on Aug. 2. All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney is out for the rest of the preseason with a calf injury.

At running back, depth behind Josh Jacobs has been inconsistent. Emanuel Wilson (knee) and MarShawn Lloyd (groin) just returned to full practice after early camp injuries. However, Israel Abanikanda (hamstring) was sidelined Tuesday, and Jalen White (foot) was waived injured.

Gutekunst said the injuries are frustrating but not unexpected.

“Any injury kind of irks you and frustrates you but, at the same time, you know it’s coming, you know it’s part of it,” he said. “I think Matt and his staff have done a really good job of taking the pulse of our team and knowing when to push, when to back off.

“We’ve got four really important touchpoints here over the next 10 days or so that are going to be really important for this football team. So, I think we’re ready for that. I think it’s been pretty similar to last year.”

For now, the Packers are hoping to avoid any more setbacks before Week 1.