Adams, Savage out again for ‘Friday’ practice
With Sir Charles Jones’ “Friday” and the Commodores’ “Easy Like Sunday Morning” blaring over the audio system, the Green Bay Packers on Saturday morning put the finishing touches on their on-field preparation for Monday’s game against the Detroit Lions.
Receiver Davante Adams (toe), safety Darnell Savage (ankle) and tight end Robert Tonyan (hip) were the only players not on the practice field. Adams is the team's No. 1 receiver and Savage is a starter at safety, so those would be two big losses.
Adams called his battle with turf toe a “major injury” on Thursday, when he strongly suggested he would not be available this week.
“I had no idea what it was” when it happened against Philadelphia, he said. “I just knew I was in pain and obviously unable to push off of it and do anything at the moment, which was almost scary at the time because you don't really know what the deal is. I'm so used to getting to the sideline and being able to just push through a little bit, throw some tape on something. Even every time I've hurt my ankle, I continued to play that game, so for me to have to actually tell myself I couldn't finish that game, it sucked. And I didn't want to believe it. I kept trying to see if I could do something as we went along. The drive before our last, I knew it was too fresh then. I was hoping maybe the adrenaline would kick in, I could work through some, but it was tough.”
Cornerback Tony Brown (hamstring), who did not practice on Thursday and Friday, was back on the practice field. Center Corey Linsley, who has practiced all week but remained in the concussion protocol on Friday, practiced again.
As for the music, “Friday” is a customary song for the stretching that starts every Friday practice. In the world of a professional football player, Saturday is a Friday when the game is on Monday, so it was all about maintaining a sense of normalcy for coach Matt LaFleur.
With the sun shining but the wind howling at 20 mph, the team practiced outside on a 40-degree morning. Monday night’s forecast is for partly cloudy skies, a temperature of about 40 and wind of only 4 mph.
