GREEN BAY, Wis. — After being included as a buzzer-beater addition to the injury report on Friday, cornerback Benjamin St-Juste won’t be available for the Green Bay Packers this week against the New York Jets.
A strong indication of the team’s health is the fact that they didn’t elevate anyone from the practice squad on Saturday, but even with St-Juste’s injury, the Packers opted not to elevate a defensive back as a precaution. That’s unlike last week, when wideout Bo Melton and linebacker Kristian Welch both received elevations. Welch was Ty’Ron Hopper’s replacement on special teams—and some added depth at linebacker—while the former third-round pick was shelved with an Achilles injury. Hopper will make his season debut versus the Jets.
The Packers’ offensive line will also be at full capacity, with Aaron Banks set to make his season debut. Head coach Matt LaFleur was noncommittal on Banks’ status throughout the week as the Packers’ preferred starter at left guard has been plagued by tendinitis in his knee.
“He did well; he had a good practice,” LaFleur said Friday of Banks’ Thursday session. “We gotta get him through today and see where he’s at.”
It’ll be a far cry from last week’s debacle when Donovan Jennings and Jacob Monk were the Packers’ starters at left and right guard, respectively. The tandem combined for six pressures, with the latter being responsible for four of them alone. It’s still unclear how the Packers will configure the entirety of their offensive line this week, but there’s at least some semblance of familiarity with Banks returning to his familiar spot at left guard.
Jager Burton, Anthony Belton, and Monk are all likely candidates to fill the position at right guard. Newcomer Cordell Volson is in the mix, too, but it’s hard to imagine that the Packers have ramped him up quickly enough since arriving at the facility on Thursday. Volson is a 48-game starter at left guard for the Cincinnati Bengals, and while there’s some carryover from Zac Taylor’s offense to LaFleur’s, he’ll presumably only be available in an emergency situation.
Edge defender Lukas Van Ness and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave spent the week in concussion protocol, but the former cleared it in time for Sunday. Hargrave was downgraded twice during the week—once on Thursday from a limited participant to a non-participant, and again on Saturday to being ruled out entirely.
The Packers will also be without Warren Brinson once again. The former sixth-round pick missed each of the Packers’ final two preseason games with a calf injury that has now dragged into the regular season. The injury wasn’t deemed severe enough to land him on injured reserve, but he’s now going to miss consecutive games.
Sans Hargrave and Brinson, Jamaican-born Anthony Campbell will be making his first NFL appearance to fortify the Packers’ defensive line. He played 82 snaps in the preseason for the Packers and seemed to utilize his 6’6” frame to swat down footballs at the line of scrimmage in every other practice throughout training camp.
Here are the rest of the Packers’ inactives in New York.
CB Benjamin St-Juste (Hamstring)
OL John Williams (Healthy)
OL Travis Glover (Healthy)
DT Warren Brinson (Calf)
DT Javon Hargrave (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.