As far as their record goes, the Green Bay Packers are gliding into their bye week feeling great about their 9-3 mark on the season. But the off week couldn’t have come at a better time. Matt LaFleur’s team limps into some well-needed downtime to rest and recover.
With players nicked up across the board for Green Bay, the question must be asked: Even with the bye week, how healthy can the Packers get before they welcome the Chicago Bears in Week 14?
The most appropriate place to start this discussion is with QB1, Aaron Rodgers. Last year’s league MVP has been playing on a broken pinky toe that has caused him to miss practice for weeks, plural. Rodgers had hinted at possibly exploring options for surgery during the bye week. But he noted numerous times that he would not go any route that caused him to miss time. On Monday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Rodgers would not be getting surgery on the fractured toe.
What’s most alarming is that the injury has caused Rodgers to miss a ton of practice time. However, those empty reps haven’t translated to problems on the field. It’s still safe to suggest that the toe might be an injury that Rodgers has to deal with for the rest of the regular season.
Unfortunately, he’s not the only one on the roster trying to recover during the bye week.
Rashan Gary and Aaron Jones both returned to the lineup for Green Bay in their Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Both had missed the previous game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Green Bay was wise in limiting Jones’ snaps against the Rams. One, they have A.J. Dillon. He is every bit as capable of being a lead back who gets 20-plus touches a game as Jones. Secondly, the timing of the bye week provided LaFleur with the chance only to use Jones in a limited role after he was cleared to play Sunday.
Jones missed only one game with an MCL sprain. He didn’t appear to be hampered by it in the touches he got on Sunday.
As for Gary, he was instrumental in Green Bay’s defense, only needing to rush four to get consistent pressure on Matthew Stafford. The Packers saw what Gary’s absence looked like against the Vikings, and it wasn’t pretty. It was hard to tell, but it looked like Gary was wearing some sort of brace or padding under his long sleeves against the Rams to help cushion the injury to his hyperextended elbow. For both Gary and Jones, the worry is far less since both returned from the bye. Neither seemed bothered by the injuries they had previously suffered.
If it was already exhausting sifting through the injuries to the dudes playing through it, the list of guys on IR or still sitting out is even longer.
Between David Bakhtiari, Jaire Alexander, and Za’Darius Smith, it’s impossible to deem which player’s return would be the most helpful for Green Bay. Most would probably lean towards Bakhtiari, if only because of the depth issues on the offensive line.
Elgton Jenkins is out for the season with a torn ACL. Therefore, all the eyeballs drifted over to the non-existent return clock for Bakhtiari. A second surgery to his knee pushed back the timeline a bit. However, via the latest update, Bakhtiari could very well be back right after the bye week given the “mid-December” timeline that has been thrown around. And he could bring company with him.
For most of the season, Joe Barry’s defense has been phenomenal, and they’ve done it without their two best players in Alexander and Za’Darius Smith. The timeline for both remains foggy. LaFleur last said in early November that they would see where Za’Darius is in a few weeks and that Alexander is “a long way out.”
Both have been spotted off to the side at recent practices. But expecting either to return right out of the gates after the bye week seems extremely optimistic. A return at any point for the final push would be a boon for a group that’s already established itself as a clear-cut top-10 defensive unit in the NFL.
Green Bay, like most teams in the league, is dealing with multiple injuries. Some have resolutions and confirmed timelines; others are murkier. The best estimation for the Packers is that Rodgers absolutely won’t miss any time, and Bakhtiari could be back right out of the bye. With Alexander and Smith, it’s still more of a wait-and-see approach.
Many view the Packers as the favorite to win the NFC. Those expectations will only intensify if they’re able to get back some of their All-Pro talent that either hasn’t played at all this year (Bakhtiari) or has played sparingly (Smith, one game; Alexander, four).
It’s an oft-spoken phrase, but it rings true for Green Bay: The bye week could not have come at a better time.
