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The big news out of Green Bay today was that Packers tackle Anthony Belton, who was probably in line to replace the injured Zach Tom at right tackle this week against the Dallas Cowboys, went from a limited participant on Wednesday to a non-participant on Thursday. When asked before practice if Belton was going to be ready to go against Dallas on Sunday, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur didn’t make any commitment.
Here’s the rest of what you need to know from Green Bay’s Thursday injury report.
Nickelback Javon Bullard, who left Week 3 with a concussion, returned as a limited participant for the Packers’ only fully-padded practice of the week. For what it’s worth, the only limited players who were unable to finish Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns were Bullard and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, who LaFleur stated would be day-to-day moving forward.
It’s already been reported that Tom is going to be out for Sunday Night Football, which means that the Packers’ preferred starting right tackle will be unable to play a complete game at all before the team’s bye week. Hopefully, he gets right by Week 6 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The fact that Aaron Banks has been a non-participant in back-to-back days, after missing Week 2 entirely and dropping out of both Week 1 and Week 3 with injuries, probably means that his chances to play against Dallas are slim. If Banks, Belton and Tom are all out, Green Bay’s offensive line will probably be Rasheed Walker (dealing with a quad injury), Jordan Morgan, Elgton Jenkins, Sean Rhyan and Darian Kinnard (left to right) with Donovan Jennings, Brant Banks and a practice squad call-up backing them up. If Belton can go, there’s a chance he displaces Kinnard at right tackle, and that would mean that the Packers wouldn’t need to call up a practice squad lineman.
While the Cowboys don’t have many injuries, the injuries that they do have are significant. Tyler Booker and CeeDee Lamb both have high ankle sprains that are expected to keep them off the field in Week 4. Starting cornerback DaRon Bland, who has missed the last two games with a foot injury, returned to practice as a full participant on Thursday and apparently told the NBC production crew that he will be playing against the Packers.
