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Tuesday marked the Green Bay Packers’ final practice before the team makes its trip to Indianapolis for a joint practice against the Colts on Thursday. Those two teams will face off in the preseason on Saturday, a game that head coach Matt LaFleur has stated is expected to be a rest day for the team’s starters. Per LaFleur, the starters will be pushed to play against the Seattle Seahawks in the preseason finale, despite the Packers also having a joint practice scheduled with the Seahawks in Green Bay leading up to that game.
So how did the Packers look in preparation for the Colts? Let’s get into today’s action.
Participation
Packers.com’s Weston Hodkiewicz reported that the only new injuries on the team entering today’s practice were quarterback Jordan Love’s injury (thumb) and running back Israel Abanikanda’s hamstring issue. Love is having surgery on his left thumb, which was injured during his sack against the New York Jets. The hope is that he can return to practice next week.
Because of Abanikanda’s status, the Packers added former third-round running back Tyrion Davis-Price, who played in a similar offensive system with the San Francisco 49ers.
Players who remain out of practice due to injury are receiver Christian Watson (knee), receiver Jayden Reed (foot), receiver Dontayvion Wicks (calf), offensive lineman John Williams (back), defensive end Collin Oliver (hamstring), cornerback Nate Hobbs (knee), cornerback Isaiah Dunn (knee), safety Xavier McKinney (calf) and safety Zayne Anderson (knee). In the pre-practice presser today, general manager Brian Gutekunst was optimistic that Oliver, who has missed all of training camp so far, will be able to return to the team and practice before the roster cutdown deadline.
Offense
The wide receiver unit just keeps taking hits in practice. On a deep pass from Malik Willis, Romeo Doubs went down, eventually walked off on his own power and then was sent to the Hutson Center with the medical staff. Receiver Savion Williams, who has been on and off the field all summer due to injury, also worked to the side of practice, according to Packer Report’s Andy Herman, and didn’t return to play.
Between Watson, Wicks, Reed, Doubs and Williams, the only receiver consistently on the field for the Packers’ first-team unit at this point is first-round rookie Matthew Golden. Expect to see a lot of Malik Heath and Mecole Hardman in this week’s preseason matchup.
Left tackle Rasheed Walker and running back Emanuel Wilson returned to team drills today after being limited in practice in their returns on Monday. Walker split time at left tackle with Jordan Morgan, who was Walker’s replacement when the preferred starter was injured.
Herman noted that Sean Clifford, not just Willis, took snaps with the first-team offense at quarterback. Clifford was last season’s practice squad quarterback, after being the primary backup in 2023. There doesn’t seem to be a true competition for the backup job as of yet, but it is worth mentioning that Clifford got limited looks over Willis today.
Willis had...
