The Green Bay Packers were without veteran leaders on both sides of the ball for the second consecutive day of practice on Thursday.
Left guard Elgton Jenkins and outside linebacker Preston Smith both were unavailable during the portion of practice open to the media. Jenkins and Smith suffered ankle injuries during the Packers’ win over the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday night.
The Packers host the Chicago Bears in the regular season finale on Sunday. A win would clinch a playoff spot.
Matt LaFleur’s team will practice again Friday before issuing a final injury report. Playing status designations — questionable, doubtful or out — are included.
Jenkins and Smith are both veterans who have played a lot of football, keeping open the possibility of playing without practicing this week. But line of scrimmage players are so dependent on generating force through the lower body, so an ankle injury could be debilitating as a rusher or blocker.
It’s unclear who would start at left guard if Jenkins can’t go. Jon Runyan Jr. and Sean Rhyan have been rotating at right guard, making it possible that Runyan could go to left guard and allow Rhyan to get a full game on the right side. It’s also possible that the Packers would keep the rotation at right guard and have Royce Newman start at left guard.
The potential replacement situation is far clearer on the defensive side. If Smith is unavailable, Kingsley Enagbare and rookie Lukas Van Ness would get a big uptick in snaps opposite Rashan Gary. While Smith has been a steady force for the Packers, Enagbare has made plenty of plays as a rotational player in 2023 and Van Ness has been starting to come on during the second half of his rookie season. Both would need to play a smart and tough game on the edge against Bears quarterback Justin Fields and running back Khalil Herbert.
Jenkins and Smith weren’t the only players out on Thursday. Running back A.J. Dillon (thumb/neck), safety Rudy Ford (hamstring) and linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (neck/concussion) were all out for a second straight day of practice.
LaFleur is scheduled to speak to the media following practice Thursday. This post will be updated with any new information on the injury front.
