Despite an injury-plagued wide corps, it may be up to Jordan Love to salvage the Green Bay Packers’ season on Sunday night against the Minnesota Vikings. On Friday, Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks went through the pre-practice stretch but did not walk outdoors for the start of practice. When asked the day before if they would need to practice on Friday in order to play on Sunday, coach Matt LaFleur stated, “I’d say that would be the case.”
Reporters only get to watch players warm up on Fridays. Watson (hamstring), Wicks (chest/ankle), linebacker De’Vondre Campbell (neck) and defensive tackle TJ Slaton (knee/foot) did not go out for practice. Those four players also did not practice on Thursday.
In a must-win game between 7-8 teams clinging to life in the NFC playoff race, can the Packers cobble together enough offense to beat the Vikings without three of their top five pass-catchers? Especially considering the three-game slump by Joe Barry’s defense? By receptions, Wicks and tight end Luke Musgrave (kidney) are tied for third with 33 and Watson is fifth with 28. By yards, Wicks is third, Watson is fourth and Musgrave is fifth. That’s a lot of firepower that could be standing on the Packers’ sideline in dress clothes. This could mark Watson’s seventh game sidelined by hamstring issues, including the last four. “Honestly, I’m feeling really good,” Watson said. “It’s really just been the limitations that the body kind of sets with these things that have held me back from playing these weeks prior. I’ve said it before – one day, it’ll feel really, really good, and then the next day, it won’t feel so good. So, it’s a tough situation, one I’ve dealt with before, but they really are different every time. And they kind of react differently, too, to the stuff that I’m doing.
“But I feel really good. I feel like there’s a mental side to it, too, in terms of being able to have confidence in it to keep on pushing forward. So, I’m still just as this point it’s really just day-by-day, trying to get to that point where I’m 100 percent confident in it and ready to go.” If Watson and Wicks can’t play, it will be up to Romeo Doubs, who has a team-high 56 catches, rookie Jayden Reed, who is second with 54 receptions, rising rookie tight end Tucker Kraft, who is sixth with 22 receptions, and receivers Malik Heath, Samori Toure and Bo Melton, who have a combined 23 receptions, to pick up the slack. “I think our wideout room is extremely deep,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “It’s deeper than it’s been in a really long time. It’s a testament to our personnel guys, getting the right guys in here. It’s a testament to (receivers coach/passing game coordinator Jason) Vrable and (coaching assistant Quinshon (Odom), the guys coaching them in that room, and their mindset, the way they practice.”
With Watson and Reed inactive last week and Wicks unable to play the second half, Doubs caught 4-of-5 passes for 79 yards, Kraft caught 4-of-6 passes for 60 yards and Melton caught 4-of-6 passes for 44 yards as a practice-squad elevation. “One thing we preach a lot is, even if you’re on the practice squad, you still prepare every week like you’re going to play,” Stenavich said. “That way, when your time comes, you’ll be ready. And that’s a testament right there to Bo. He came, he got his opportunity, he showed up and he did a great job. Yeah, it’s just the whole mindset of that room I couldn’t be happier with.” If Slaton can’t play, more of a burden will be placed on rookies Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden, who have 18 and 15 tackles, respectively. They also might have to elevate Chris Slayton or Jonathan Ford from the practice squad. They have not played this season.
With Campbell out again, Isaiah McDuffie will make his eighth start. He is second on the team with 79 tackles.
