GREEN BAY, Wis. — Sunday’s showdown under the scorching Florida sun with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will mark the second consecutive absence for Aaron Banks.
The Green Bay Packers’ starting left guard has missed multiple weeks of practice now as he battles a toe injury. The injury occurred in the first half of the team’s Sept. 20 win over the New York Jets and was compounded by knee tendinitis that has hindered Banks since the start of training camp.
Banks, who is in the second year of a four-year contract he signed with the Packers last spring, could be seeing his starting job slip from his fingertips. The Packers signed 34-year-old Laken Tomlinson on Monday, and he’s spent the entire week practicing at Banks’ left guard spot with the No. 1 offense. By all accounts, it’ll be Tomlinson starting against the Buccaneers.
If Tomlinson plays well—and the bar is incredibly low—then Banks could find himself in a predicament. His health has already been too erratic for the Packers to trust every week throughout the season.
“He’s just working through it,” said head coach Matt LaFleur on Friday. “We’ll see where he’s at.”
Banks was one of four players ruled out for the game, along with Jacob Monk, Warren Brinson, and Anthony Campbell.
Monk has been the Packers’ starting right guard for all three games this season, but he’s dealing with a quadriceps injury. Once he’s healthy, he’ll likely head back to the bench as the Packers have begun outsourcing for options to replace him. One of those options is 36-year-old Kevin Zeitler, who signed with the Packers after a successful visit Tuesday night in an effort to shore up the guard position opposite Tomlinson.
It’s unclear whether or not Zeitler will be able to play as soon as this weekend, however. The 15-year veteran had offseason surgery to repair a quadriceps injury, which is why he remained unsigned throughout training camp and the preseason. The Packers presented an ideal opportunity for him to step into an immediate starting role, as well as return to his home state of Wisconsin.
“We have a plan in place right now,” LaFleur said of the team’s reconfigured offensive line. “If everything goes the way we plan it to go, we’ll be set. We’ve got one more practice; let’s get through that and finalize our decision.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Brinson will presumably head to injured reserve in the near future, while Campbell is set to miss his second consecutive game with an ankle injury. LaFleur confirmed on Friday that the groin injury Brinson sustained in Wednesday’s practice session will keep him sidelined for a “significant” amount of time. Brinson was already battling a calf injury that he suffered during warm-ups ahead of the Packers’ Aug. 21 preseason game against the Denver Broncos.
Edgerrin Cooper, who exited last week’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons with a concussion, is one of two questionable players for Sunday, but his outlook is positive. He could be on the doorstep of clearing concussion protocol after being upgraded to a full practice participant on Friday. The star linebacker is listed with a shoulder injury, too, but it doesn’t appear to be major.
The other player is rookie offensive lineman Jager Burton, who appeared on Thursday’s practice report with a groin injury. Without Monk, the Packers’ offensive line depth could truly be tested against Vita Vea and the Buccaneers’ fierce defensive front. Burton started last week’s game against the Falcons at left guard and surrendered 10 pressures.
Here’s the full and final injury report ahead of Week 4.
Questionable
LB Edgerrin Cooper (Shoulder/Concussion)
OG Jager Burton (Groin)
Out
OG Aaron Banks (Knee/Toe)
DT Warren Brinson (Calf/Groin)
DT Anthony Campbell (Ankle)
OG Jacob Monk (Quadricep)
No Designation
DT Karl Brooks (Illness)
EDGE Lukas Van Ness (Shoulder)
Zachary Jacobson is the author of The Packer Dispatch. He is entering his 12th season covering the Green Bay Packers after spending seven as the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter @zachjacobson or contact him via email at itszachariahj@gmail.com.
I cannot believe how quickly things have changed for this offensive line. Complete 180, from both GM and coach. Is this unprecedented?