GREEN BAY, Wis. — For the second consecutive day, the Green Bay Packers’ preferred starter at left guard, Aaron Banks, was on the practice field.
He’s trending in a positive direction toward potentially making his season debut in Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. Still, any development has to be taken with a grain of salt. The 29-year-old practiced in a limited capacity in all three sessions last week, but he was still held out of Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
It’s simply the nature of the beast that Banks is currently dealing with. He’s been hindered by knee tendinitis since the start of training camp, forcing him to operate on a day-on, day-off schedule as the team’s medical staff attempts to manage it. The positive takeaway is that Banks didn’t have a setback after Wednesday’s practice.
“He had a good day of work,” said head coach Matt LaFleur ahead of Thursday’s practice. “Hopefully, he can get back out there today and continue to build upon that.”
Banks returning to his typical spot at left guard would give the Packers one less thing to worry about when it comes to reconfiguring a makeshift offensive line that surrendered a stunning 18 hits to quarterback Jordan Love in Minnesota. Jacob Monk, who made his first career start at right guard last week, accounted for four total pressures. The Packers will likely experiment with either rookie fifth-round pick Jager Burton or Anthony Belton, last year’s starter at the position, in his place.
Edge defender Lukas Van Ness also practiced for a second consecutive day as he navigates through concussion protocol. He and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave reported concussion-like symptoms upon their return to the team’s facility Monday morning. Van Ness is evidently further along, improving his chances of playing Sunday against the Jets. If he can’t, one of Arron Mosby or Nyjalik Kelly will be called up from the practice squad.
“Those guys had great training camps,” LaFleur said. “In the event [Van Ness] can’t go, I’d expect one of those guys to be ready to go.”
Hargrave’s situation appears to be a little more severe. He practiced in a limited fashion on Wednesday, but was held out entirely on Thursday. The Packers will presumably be without him this week.
Brandon Cisse, meanwhile, is off the injury report entirely. He exited Sunday’s game in Minnesota with cramps, which kept him limited in Wednesday’s session.
Here’s the full practice report for Thursday.
Limited Participation
OL Zach Bako-Bewele (Knee)
OG Aaron Banks (Knee)
LB Ty’Ron Hopper (Achilles)
EDGE Barryn Sorell (Foot)
EDGE Lukas Van Ness (Concussion)
DT Devonte Wyatt (Ankle)
Did Not Participate
DT Warren Brinson (Calf)
DT Javon Hargrave (Knee/Concussion)
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.