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The Green Bay Packers are on the verge of locking up a playoff berth.
The Packers (10-4) can clinch and strengthen their seeding prospects by beating the visiting New Orleans Saints (5-9) on Monday night.
They might even clinch before taking the field Monday, depending on what happens in other games on Sunday.
"I'm not even worried about the playoffs," Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur said. "I'm worried about us continuing to get better, staying in the moment, focusing on what's right in front of us. Nothing is a lock for us, so you've got to go out and win games."
The Packers can secure a berth if the Falcons lose or tie against the Giants and either the Rams or the Seahawks lose or tie against the Jets or Vikings, respectively, on Sunday.
Green Bay has won eight of its last 10 games, and both of those losses came against division-rival Detroit, which is tied with Minnesota atop the NFC North. The Packers, who lost to Minnesota in Week 4, visit the Vikings next week before finishing against the last-place Bears.
Jordan Love has thrown seven touchdowns and zero interceptions in the last four games after a three-game stretch in which he threw one touchdown pass and three interceptions. Josh Jacobs is third in the NFL in rushing yards (1,147) and carries (265).
"I think we've got to be mindful of his workload," LaFleur said of Jacobs. "(But) the productivity speaks for itself."
The Saints are coming off a 20-19 home loss to the Washington Commanders last Sunday, which guaranteed them a losing record. They are all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, which they haven't reached since 2020.
Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler is expected to start in place of injured Derek Carr (non-throwing hand). Rattler, who went 0-3 as a starter in place of Carr earlier in the season, relieved an ineffective Jake Haener against the Commanders and nearly led a dramatic comeback to victory.
Rattler replaced Haener to start New Orleans' first possession of the second half with Washington holding a 17-0 lead and completed 10 of 21 passes for 135 yards. He threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Foster Moreau to get his team within one point as time expired, but his ensuing two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
"He gave us a spark," interim head coach Darren Rizzi said of Rattler. "In those last three games, as is the case with any rookie quarterback, there are times when they get a little panicky. He was much more relaxed and in control (against Washington)."
Running back Alvin Kamara suffered a groin injury during the game after getting within 50 yards of his first 1,000-yard season while on pace to set a career high in yards from scrimmage. He is unlikely to play Monday.
The cases of Carr and Kamara are the latest injuries to key players that have plagued New Orleans during a disappointing season.
"The message to each player has been, nobody is stopping you from the best performance of your lifetime except you," Rizzi said. "Everybody has injuries, some more than others. The best teams overcome them."
Carr and Kamara missed practice Thursday, as did defensive end Chase Young (illness) and wide receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling (chest) and Bub Means (ankle). Top wideout Chris Olave (concussion) was a limited participant.
Young is expected to play Monday, but Rizzi said it's doubtful Olave will play after a six-week absence.
Two Packers starters -- safety Javon Bullard and linebacker Quay Walker -- missed practice because of ankle injuries.
More must-reads:
- Colts' QB decision makes no sense, sets stage for wasted season
- New report sheds light on how Cowboys view Micah Parsons situation
- The '2024 NFL rushing TD leaders' quiz
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Former Green Bay Packers RB to miss entire 2025 NFL season due to injury
The Green Bay Packers are dealing with some concerning injuries to significant members of their roster. As their fans are well aware, the Packers have seen multiple wide receivers projected to be at the top of the depth cart go down during training camp with various injuries. Christian Watson, of course, has not been practicing all offseason as he is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 18 against the Chicago Bears. In addition to him, the Packers also played their previous preseason game without Romeo Doubs (back), Jayden Reed (foot) and Dontayvion Wicks (calf). And while Doubs returned to practice this week, Reed and Wicks remain out. Elsewhere around the NFL, other teams are dealing with injuries of their own, and some involve players that are former Packers. Former Green Bay Packers running back Patrick Taylor is out for the 2025-26 NFL season One of these players is former Packers running back Patrick Taylor, who played in Green Bay from 2021-2023. An undrafted free agent who often filled in as Green Bay’s third running back, he accumulated 261 rushing yards and a touchdown in his three seasons with the Packers. He found himself out of a job when the Packers revamped their running back room before the 2024 NFL season. Taylor ended up with the San Francisco 49ers last season and had the best year of his career with 183 rushing yards and a touchdown while appearing in 13 games. He will not be playing any games this season as San Francisco just put him on season-ending injured reserve: NFL teams can only have so many players on an injured reserve list. Interestingly, Taylor’s injury led to the 49ers to release another former Packer, wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who was placed on injured reserve last week. In order to release an injured player, teams and that player must come to an injury settlement, which St. Brown received. He is now free to sign with any team in the NFL should he be able to pass a physical.
Adam Schefter's latest Micah Parsons update gives Packers fans even more reason to believe in a blockbuster trade
Days after Ian Rapoport reported that the Green Bay Packers would make total sense as Micah Parsons' landing spot if the Dallas Cowboys decide to trade the All-Pro edge defender, Packers fans have gained another reason to believe that a deal is actually possible. On ESPN Radio, NFL insider Adam Schefter mentioned that the Cowboys parting ways to Parsons truly is a realistic scenario. "It sounds like at some point in time—whether that's now, after the season, after two seasons—it sounds like the two sides are headed to a divorce at some time," Schefter said. On the Pat McAfee Show, Schefter said something similar. "These things always can change, and situations often change at the end of August and September. It changed for CeeDee Lamb last year. It changed for Dak Prescott last year. This one doesn't feel that way. It doesn't feel that way today. That doesn't mean it can't change, but the way that it's tracking, it feels more likely that these sides are headed for a divorce today than they would be for a new deal. Now, I don't know that it'll play out that way, but that is what I see when I look at the market, first of all. Now, I don't know whether that means there will be a trade. I think the most likely scenario would be that he's there this year, his contract expires, they franchise tag him, and then after they franchise tag him, then they have the ability to go and try and trade him." Micah Parsons is playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal with the Cowboys, and he will make $24.007 million in 2025. Even though he's slated to hit the free agent market next offseason, Dallas could utilize the franchise tag to keep him around—which would be 120% of his current salary, $28.8 million. Parsons wants a long-term deal with the idea of becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in football, surpassing $40 million in yearly salary. To make that happen, the Packers would have to be willing to spend the combination of high draft picks and the big extension. But at 26 and with his extremely productive profile, Parsons is the type of player worthy of that effort. For now, though, the Cowboys control the cards.
Terry McLaurin, Commanders standoff reportedly 'will end' this way
Eyebrows were raised when it was learned over the weekend that the Washington Commanders had activated wide receiver Terry McLaurin off the active/physically unable to perform list after he missed practice time with a supposed ankle injury amid his desire for a multiyear contract extension. McLaurin is in the final year of his current deal and requested a trade on July 31. For an article published on Monday morning, ESPN's Ben Solak revealed that a recent visit to the Commanders during training camp left him believing there's only one realistic outcome regarding the situation involving Washington and McLaurin. "Not only can I not find anyone who believes wide receiver Terry McLaurin will play for another team in 2025," Solak wrote. "I can't find anyone who has a remotely plausible hypothetical in which McLaurin plays for another team in 2025. This section might better be called one thing I didn't hear: a way McLaurin actually gets out of Washington. I strongly believe this standoff will end with a compromise extension before Week 1." McLaurin reportedly wants "parts" of the five-year, $150M contract that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave DK Metcalf as part of acquiring him from the Seattle Seahawks in March. While the Commanders seemingly aren't keen on giving a receiver who turns 30 years old in September that type of a deal, it's always been unlikely that they would trade the playmaker for a future draft asset coming off their trip to last season's NFC Championship Game. McLaurin finished last season with the second-most receiving touchdowns (13) in the league. He's the favorite target of quarterback and reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels, who is viewed by many as a legitimate candidate to win the Most Valuable Player Award for the upcoming season. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Commanders tied for third (with the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers) among the betting favorites at +950 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LX this coming February. The Commanders activating McLaurin suggests he may not be willing to forfeit money by sitting regular-season games out if he doesn't have a signed extension in hand when Washington opens the campaign with a home game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7. That said, it remains to be seen what type of "compromise extension" he could accept to take the field for that Week 1 matchup at Northwest Stadium.
MLB sends message by suspending Victor Robles for bat-throwing incident
Major League Baseball announced that Mariners outfielder Víctor Robles has received a 10-game suspension and an undisclosed fine from the league. The suspension will begin as soon as Robles is reinstated from the injured list, though Robles has filed an appeal and the suspension is being held in abeyance until the appeals process is complete. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported these details prior to the official announcement. Divish notes that the M’s would have to play a man short during the suspension. Robles has been on the injured list for most of the year. Back in early April, he made a sensational catch in San Francisco but crashed into the sideline netting and dislocated his left shoulder, causing a small fracture in the humeral head of said shoulder. A week ago, he was finally able to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma. During that week, he was hit by pitches multiple times, as shown in this video breakdown from Jomboy Media. Although he was hit five times, only three of them were technically counted as hit-by-pitches, with the other two counting as swings. Regardless, the final incident saw Robles hit by Joey Estes of the Las Vegas Aviators. Of the five times Robles was hit, three of them were out of the hand of Estes, though the final two were counted as swinging strikes. Regardless of how it was scored, Robles was clearly upset and threw his bat toward the pitcher’s mound. It doesn’t appear as though it hit Estes or anyone else, but MLB is understandably taking a firm stance against a player using his bat in this dangerous manner and sending Robles a message. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto spoke to members of the media, including Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, noting that the club tentatively planned to reinstate Robles from the IL next week but those plans may change with the suspension. Divish suggests that perhaps the best plan is to reinstate Robles on Sept. 1, so that the M’s can at least play with a 27-man roster, though that would push his reinstatement into the middle of September. Reinstating him earlier would mean playing with a 25-man roster for a while, though that would also mean Robles would be able to be reinstated for more games. It’s also unclear how long the appeals process will take. Sometimes, players appealing a suspension will hang in limbo until their team goes to New York, where the MLB head offices are located. The M’s don’t play in New York again this year, so it’s not clear when the appeal would be scheduled for. Robles being in the minors could also complicate factors. The M’s would surely love for the appeal to drag out into the winter and for Robles to serve his suspension next year, since they are currently in a playoff race, though MLB presumably wouldn’t let it play out like that.
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