GREEN BAY – While Micah Parsons was officially placed on injured reserve Wednesday, the Packers continue to take a wait-and-see approach with several key players entering Saturday’s NFC North showdown with Chicago.
Receivers Christian Watson (chest) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle), and defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness (ankle) all returned in a limited capacity to practice after being estimated as non-participants during Tuesday’s walkthrough.
Meanwhile, running back Josh Jacobs, safety Evan Williams and right tackle Zach Tom are all taking a day-to-day approach as far as their availability for the Bears game despite not having practiced this week due to their respective knee injuries.
Seeing Watson back on the practice field was a major sigh of relief for Green Bay after the fourth-year receiver crashed hard on his chest and shoulder after laying out for a deep ball from quarterback Jordan Love early in the third quarter.
Watson said he was transported to a local hospital to be examined for dislocated ribs. He was allowed to fly home with the team after the game and is “fighting to play” in Chicago, according to Head Coach Matt LaFleur.
“I dodged a bullet with it, so definitely think I’m in a better spot than I anticipated right away,” said Watson, who has 28 catches for 481 yards and five touchdowns since returning in October.
“Hopefully it feels a little bit better each and every day, and we’re at the point in the season where you gotta fight through some stuff, so should be good.”
Because of everything involved with the hospital visit, Watson said he didn’t even know the full scale of the injuries the Packers suffered in Denver until he opened his phone on the plane ride home.
Watson’s situation began a nightmarish third quarter for the Packers, who then lost Parsons and Williams on the same play with less than a minute left in the quarter.
Williams told reporters after Wednesday’s practice that he sustained a sprained medial collateral ligament after getting rolled into while fighting a block in pursuit of Broncos receiver Marvin Mims deep in the secondary.
Williams didn’t know until after the play was over that Parsons tore his anterior cruciate ligament on the other side of the play.
“It was funny from my point of view, because the play finished, I’m rolling over. I’m like, ‘Oh my God. I know something happened,'” Williams said. “Then I look up, thinking there’s going to be a couple trainers. There’s one trainer holding a water bottle. And I’m like, ‘Where’s everybody else?’ And there’s 15 in a circle all around Micah. I was like, ‘Oh, damn.'”
Third-year veteran Zayne Anderson finished the game at free safety in place of Williams and could start there Saturday if the second-year safety can’t go.
It’s a similar situation for Green Bay at right tackle after Tom injured his knee on Jacobs’ 14-yard touchdown catch off a wheel route in the second quarter.
Tom said he took an awkward step while anchoring against a bull rush on the play. Darian Kinnard came in and played the final 39 offensive snaps at right tackle. He or former first-round pick Jordan Morgan would candidates to start against the Bears if Tom isn’t cleared.
Tom has started 12 games for the Packers this season despite playing through oblique and back injuries since Week 2. Tom didn’t want to get into specifics with the knee injury but said it’s a balance of pain tolerance and not trying to do further damage.
“There’s some things in there (the knee) that we need to work on that need to get healed before I can go out there and feel confident,” Tom said. “I would say the oblique (injury) was probably worse. This one is more so trying to protect myself from doing further damage and keeping me out even longer.”
Joining Tom as one of Green Bay’s six injury-related DNPs on Wednesday was Jacobs, who took another shot to his injured knee during Sunday’s 34-26 loss in Denver.
The three-time Pro Bowler told reporters on Tuesday he doesn’t believe he’ll need surgery, reiterating the only thing his knee requires is rest that’s often difficult to come by in-season.
Despite all that, Jacobs still totaled 92 yards and two touchdowns while playing 36 of 66 offensive snaps (55%) in Denver. Backup running back Chris Brooks also suffered a chest injury against the Broncos that has him listed on the injury report as limited.
“If it’s up to me, yeah, for sure I’m going to try to go,” Jacobs said. “For me, it’s harder to watch games than it is to play hurt. I’d rather try to contribute in some type of fashion, even if it’s in a limited fashion, than just sit there and watch the whole time. I’ve always had that kind of mindset.”
It’s a sentiment shared among most of the Packers’ wounded given the significance of Saturday’s game against the Bears, who regained a half game lead over Green Bay in the NFC North after a 31-3 romp of the Cleveland Browns.
Green Bay knows it won’t have Parsons the rest of the way, but there’s an entire roster ready to step up in the enigmatic playmaker’s absence.
“I feel like our culture really is just next man up. As one person gets hurt, you get another person with the opportunity,” Williams said. “Definitely, it sucks to see guys go down that are key points for this team, but it’s also an opportunity for more opportunities for other people. That’s pretty cool to see, to see other people get their shot, and to get to see what they get to do with their time on the field.”
