GREEN BAY, Wis. — For the second consecutive week—er, the second time in five days—the Green Bay Packers didn’t elevate anyone from their practice squad ahead of a game.
They’ll host the visiting Atlanta Falcons Thursday night on a short week, and they’ll do so with a fairly uncomplicated game-day roster.
All five of the Packers’ scratches for the contest are players dealing with injuries. Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele is expected to be placed on injured reserve in the near future, and possibly ditto with wideout Jayden Reed. Bako-Bewele suffered a complete tear of the patellar tendon in his right knee and will keep him shelved into next summer, while Reed sustained a neck injury, but his future outlook isn’t clear.
For now, they remain on the Packers’ 53-man roster, so they’ll count toward the inactives list.
A calf injury has sidelined defensive tackle Will Brinson since before the Packers’ Aug. 21 preseason game against the Denver Broncos. He was ruled out for the third consecutive game to begin the season, while left guard Aaron Banks will miss his second game in 11 days. Banks, who is in the second year of the four-year contract he signed with the Packers last spring, exited Sunday’s game versus the New York Jets with a toe injury.
Banks’ newest ailment compounds the knee tendinitis he’s been battling since the offseason. The Packers have spent the quick turnaround between games configuring their offensive line, but it’s unclear if it’ll be Donovan Jennings or rookie Jager Burton at left guard.
“We’re putting a puzzle together,” said head coach Matt LaFleur on Tuesday. “That’s the situation. We gotta do the best that we can to go out there and play winning football. Nobody cares about the circumstances—it’s a circumstance, and you have to work around it.”
Most notably, all eight members of the Packers’ offensive line are active. That includes Travis Glover and John Williams, who were healthy scratches against the Jets. The Packers had a brief scare where an onslaught of injuries nearly forced them to play tight end Tucker Kraft at one of the spots on the offensive line. Jennings left the game with a hand injury, while Monk exited momentarily to be checked out by the team’s medical staff, and that was after Bako-Bewele had already been carted off the field on the third play from scrimmage.
With defensive tackle Javon Hargrave returning from the concussion that sidelined him last week, the Packers were able to declare Anthony Campbell inactive. Campbell, though, has also spent the week battling an ankle injury, so this will at least provide him the opportunity to heal.
Here’s the full list of inactives for Thursday night.
WR Jayden Reed (Neck)
OT Zach Bako-Bewele (Knee)
OG Aaron Banks (Knee/Toe)
DT Warren Brinson (Calf)
DT Anthony Campbell (Ankle)
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.