GREEN BAY, Wis. — It was a busy day in Green Bay.
The Packers announced a flurry of roster moves—some expected, others not so much.
Javon Hargrave, who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in the Packers’ Oct. 4 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was placed on injured reserve on Saturday. That’s not surprising.
What is surprising, however, is that Skyy Moore and Jonathan Ford joined him.
Moore exited Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bears with an ankle injury that kept him out of practice this past week. Head coach Matt LaFleur didn’t believe that it was going to be a long-term injury, despite Moore being seen in the locker room sporting a walking boot. Perhaps it won’t be long-term in the sense that his season isn’t over, but the Packers will still have to navigate the next four games without their primary return man.
In his first season in Green Bay, Moore has helped ignite the Packers’ stagnant return game. He accumulated 250 yards on nine kickoff returns across a two-game span in September, as well as another 92 yards on punt returns in the Packers’ Sept. 20 win over the New York Jets. In that game alone, he had returns of 43 and 63 yards.
Ford, meanwhile, is hindered by a calf issue. He’s played well in what was once considered to be a deep rotation at defensive tackle, but the Packers are now running thin. Sans Hargrave and Ford, the only healthy bodies at the position are Devonte Wyatt, Chris McClellan, Karl Brooks, and Anthony Campbell. Campbell is questionable to play this week due to an ankle injury, but the Packers didn’t elevate David Blay Jr. from the practice squad, so that’s a positive indication that he should play Sunday after a three-game absence.
The soonest that Moore and Ford can return is the Packers’ Nov. 15 home game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Packers are also activating Savion Williams from injured reserve. Williams, a former third-round pick last spring, has missed the team’s first five games of the season after sustaining an ankle injury in the Aug. 21 preseason game against the Denver Broncos. He practiced for the first time on Oct. 7, giving him two weeks’ worth of limited sessions before the Packers’ medical staff determined that he was healthy enough to play.
Williams said on Friday that he’s been participating in 11-on-11 team drills in practice, which was the final hurdle he needed to clear before returning to game action.
With Moore on the shelf, the Packers will likely lean on Williams to stabilize their return game. Matthew Golden became the only other player to return a punt this season for the Packers last week against the Bears, while Bo Melton and Kaleb Johnson have returned kickoffs. Williams, who returned 28 kickoffs last year and averaged 25.6 yards per return, is expected to return to a similar role in Moore’s stead, but given the thinning numbers at receiver and the fact that he’s coming off a lower-leg injury, the Packers could be cautious.
“They told us that everybody might as well be ready,” Williams said. “So, everybody who’s a kick returner, just get ready, because you don’t know whose number is going to be called.”
Edge rusher Arron Mosby and wideout Coleman Owen were the only practice squad elevations for the Packers. Brandon Cisse, the Packers’ rookie cornerback, was a late addition to the injury report on Friday with a hip ailment. It shouldn’t be severe enough to keep him out of Sunday night’s game, considering the Packers didn’t elevate one of their two cornerbacks from the practice squad.
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.