Acme Packing Company
As expected, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love returned to practice following surgery to the UCL on his thumb on his non-throwing hand. Love injured his thumb in the preseason opener against the New York Jets, but practiced once for the Packers after the injury before deciding to have the surgery.
Head coach Matt LaFleur said after the surgery that the hope was that Love would be able to practice this week, though his status in joint practice against the Seattle Seahawks and the preseason finale against Seattle was still up in the air. Love did throw the football today, with a wrapped thumb, but didn’t take snaps from under center. He also didn’t participate in team drills as the number one quarterback, a duty that remained in Malik Willis’ hands.
Here’s what else happened in Monday’s practice, which was closed to the public.
Participation
Beyond Love returning to practice, wide receiver Romeo Doubs (back) also returned to the field on Monday. Running back MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring), receiver Jayden Reed (foot), receiver Christian Watson (knee), receiver Dontayvion Wicks (calf), receiver Savion Williams (hamstring), offensive lineman John Williams (back), defensive end Barryn Sorrell (knee), defensive end Collin Oliver (knee), cornerback Nate Hobbs (knee), safety Xavier McKinney (calf), safety Zayne Anderson (knee) and safety Omar Brown (chest) remain as non-participants.
Here’s the even worse news: More players are getting hurt. According to Packers.com’s Weston Hodkiewicz, starting left guard Aaron Banks, starting defensive end Lukas Van Ness and starting defensive tackle Kenny Clark all have back injuries that sidelined them on Monday. Backup offensive lineman Jacob Monk is also now dealing with a hamstring injury.
In total, 16 Packers were unable to practice today, not including tackle Travis Glover, who is on season-ending injured reserve.
Offense
With Banks out at left guard, Jordan Morgan subbed in for him at the position. Rarely has the offensive line been healthy enough for Morgan and Rasheed Walker to actually be able to trade off at left tackle during practice. Instead, their reps at the position seem to be streaky, depending on whether Walker or other non-Morgan starters have dropped out of action.
Today was no different. It’s going to be tough to name Morgan a starting left tackle, considering that Walker is a tackle-only player, if the rest of the line isn’t 100 percent healthy. So much for that left tackle competition.
With Love returning to practice today, the Packers ran seven-on-seven, a drill that Matt LaFleur has rarely ran in his time in Green Bay. Even weirder, Love, because of the rain and the wrap on his thumb, wore a plastic bag on his left hand while throwing in seven-on-seven. Modern problems require modern solutions, I guess.
Defense
We finally have confirmation of who the next defensive linemen up are behind the starters. For the most part, the Packers’ second-string defensive linemen have come in as a unit this summer, which means we haven’t been able to gauge a pecking order.
With Clark and Van...
