On the eve of training camp, the Green Bay Packers had important maintenance to complete first. After evaluating the team’s health, five players will start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Running back Chris Brooks starts on the Non-Football Injury list.
Those six players enter training camp in a limited fashion, and, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Micah Parsons will join the list on Tuesday. Veterans don’t report until Tuesday, and procedural things kept him off the initial list.
With multiple players coming off nasty, season-ending injuries, this initial list clarifies who is close to returning and who may be further off. What have we learned about the Packers from this initial report?
First, let’s quickly go over the rules. To be on the regular-season PUP list, a player must be on the PUP before the first training camp practice. Once there, a player can participate in all activities, sans practice. They count against the 90-man roster and can be removed from the list whenever team doctors declare them healthy.
The regular-season PUP removes the player from the 53-man roster but requires the player to sit out at least the first four regular-season games. A practice window of up to 21 days can be opened as early as Week 3.
The following players are on the list as of Monday evening:
- G Aaron Banks
- CB Kamal Hadden
- DL Javon Hargrave
- TE Tucker Kraft
- TE Luke Musgrave
- RB Chris Brooks’ injury took place away from the Packers, hence the different designation.
Let’s start with the good news. Two impactful starters did not make the list: right tackle Zach Tom and the recently extended DT Devonte Wyatt. Last year, both were beset by season-ending injuries. The Packers need to improve their trench play, and both Tom and Wyatt passing their physicals is a blessing.
Tom’s return bodes well for the offensive line, but Banks is an unfortunate absence.
After signing a hefty deal with Green Bay, Banks got off to a rocky start. He was often injured through last season’s training camp and dealt with lingering issues in the regular season. While he started 14 games, those lingering injury concerns kept him from finding a groove and excelling in his first season with the Packers.
Banks missed time in this year’s OTAs and minicamp, and that as-of-now unknown injury is enough to land him on the PUP. It’s not ideal for an offensive line that needs a major bounce-back and a player looking to reward his new team.
The silver lining is promising rookie lineman Jager Burton should get plenty of practice at left guard. Burton is already generating starter hype and has a lofty audition ahead of him for at least one interior spot. If the Day 3 rookie somehow looks the part once the pads come on, he might push Banks even when he returns.
Hargrave, 30, also missed time this spring with an undisclosed injury. Hargrave was Green Bay’s major free-agent investment for the defensive line and reunites with his former defensive coordinator, Jonathan Gannon. Wyatt’s extension and injury status make this loss sting a bit less, but it’s not ideal.
Hadden got an opportunity to play late in the season, but his debut was short-lived because he suffered a season-ending ankle injury. Still in recovery, competition is fierce in the remade Green Bay cornerback room with Benjamin St-Juste, Brandon Cisse, and Domani Jackson in the fold.
Tucker Kraft says he expects to be back by Week 1 without a pitch count, and he’s looked great in every glimpse we’ve seen of his recovery. Still, last season’s torn ACL is severe enough that he still needs to start on the PUP. Thankfully, it could be a short stay.
But the tight end depth is perilously thin with Musgrave on the list, too. Musgrave is unfortunately no stranger to injury in his short NFL career. Still, with his rookie deal set to expire, the timing couldn’t be worse.
However, that’s excellent news for Josh Whyle and Messiah Swinson, who have a chance to push for playing time and even supplant Musgrave on the roster.
Brooks’ injury leaves the already thin running back group dangerously low. Josh Jacobs‘ off-field issues put a question on his future, while MarShawn Lloyd has yet to remain healthy.
With tight end and running back in dire straits, the Packers are working out a smattering of players at both positions.
While the injuries provide opportunities for other players to get snaps, seeing Banks injured to begin another training camp and seeing how thin the depth at RB and TE is is concerning. Still, we don’t know the severity of these injuries, so it’s important not to overreact. We’ll see how Green Bay’s other players can step up in light of these injuries.
