GREEN BAY, Wis. — After a barrage of injuries, the Green Bay Packers are running comically thin at defensive tackle ahead of their Oct. 18 primetime meeting with the Dallas Cowboys.
They’ve already lost Javon Hargrave to a season-ending Achilles tear, and now head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed on Friday that Jonathan Ford will “most likely” be held out this weekend. Sans Ford, the Packers will have just three healthy bodies at the position on their 53-man roster, and even that comes with an asterisk.
Devonte Wyatt headlines the room, but he’s been a limited practice participant all season with what the team describes as an ankle injury. It’s not a new injury, but the Packers are managing his workload in practice after last year’s season-ending lower-leg injury. Outside of Wyatt and Ford, the Packers have third-round rookie Chris McClellan, Karl Brooks, and Anthony Campbell, who logged the first snaps of his career in the Sept. 20 win over the New York Jets.
Campbell has missed all three games since then with an ankle injury, but he was back at practice this week in a limited capacity.
“He’s progressing well,” said LaFleur before Friday’s practice, “he had two good days of practice, and we’ll see how he does today.”
There’s no question that Wyatt will play against the Cowboys, as he’s played in every game this season. But if you want to be technical, McClellan and Brooks are the only players on the active roster without some sort of ailment. The Packers may opt to elevate David Blay Jr. from the practice squad in an effort to bolster the numbers at the position, but he’s only been with the team for a little over two weeks.
“We’ve got a plan for that,” LaFleur said, “but it certainly doesn’t help.”
Once perceived as one of the deepest positions on the team’s roster, the Packers will now be searching for answers at defensive tackle. As if the Cowboys’ top-flight receiving tandem of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens weren’t enough, the Packers will also have a tall task ahead of them in stopping a formidable rushing threat in Javonte Williams.
A former second-round pick of the Denver Broncos, Williams is in his second season leading the Cowboys’ backfield. He compiled more than 1,300 yards from scrimmage last season, but he’s been a little slower out of the gate in 2026, averaging a full yard less per carry—4.8 to 3.7—in the Cowboys’ five games. He does, however, have seven touchdowns from scrimmage.
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.