Packers-Bears Final Injury Report: Christian Watson Among Eight Questionable
GREEN BAY, Wis. – For the Green Bay Packers, there will be no excuses for not taking care of business against the Chicago Bears on Sunday and clinching their spot in the playoffs. That’s because the Jordan Love-led passing game could be at full strength.
Receivers Jayden Reed, Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks are questionable, as is tight end Luke Musgrave. All four are trending toward playing for the win-and-in showdown against their longtime rivals.
Reed, Wicks and Musgrave capped perfect 3-for-3 practice weeks on Friday. Watson didn’t practice on Friday after what coach Matt LaFleur labeled “two good days of practice.”
Said Watson: “It’s still kind of a tough thing to come back from and you’ve got to try to tempo things up and build it up. Obviously, I went kind of hard the first two days.”
Reed, the team leader with 60 receptions and 10 total touchdowns, was inactive two weeks ago against Carolina with a toe injury, then sat out the second half last week against Minnesota after sustaining a chest injury.
Wicks, who is third on the team with 33 receptions and first with nine forced missed tackles after catches, suffered a chest injury against Carolina, which sidelined him for the second half of that game as well as last week vs. the Vikings.
Musgrave, who is tied with Wicks for third on the team in receptions, suffered a lacerated kidney against the Chargers and missed the last six games. However, coach Matt LaFleur and Musgrave spoke optimistically about Musgrave’s return for this game.
“I want to play. Definitely want to play,” Musgrave said. “But we’re going to take it day-by-day and see.”
The question mark is Watson. The team’s big-play threat missed the last four games with a hamstring injury. Even while missing seven of 16 games, he’s fourth on the team with 422 receiving yards and third with five touchdowns.
Watson, who was filled with confidence on Wednesday, did not practice on Friday. That was part of the plan after two good days, LaFleur said. How he feels on Saturday and Sunday will determine whether he’s on the field.
If so, he could provide a lift to a hot offense. Before the injury, he caught five passes for 94 yards and one touchdown at Detroit and seven passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns against the Chiefs.
Can he pick up from that spot?
“I think he’s got enough game experience that he absolutely could,” LaFleur said. “It’s just how many opportunities will he get and how many plays will he play? So, I think all that kind of factors into it.”
Of note, five players did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday: running back AJ Dillon (thumb), safety Rudy Ford (hamstring), left guard Elgton Jenkins (knee/ankle), linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (concussion) and outside linebacker Preston Smith (ankle).
On Friday, Smith and Jenkins went out for the start of practice; Dillon, Ford and McDuffie did not.
“I’m feeling really good,” Jenkins proclaimed on Thursday.
Smith, one of the team’s most consistent defenders, has missed only one game in his nine-year career.
“I think some guys are just built to withstand and I think he’s one of those guys,” LaFleur said. “Quite frankly, he’s tough. He’ll be able to fight through a lot of things. So, again, that gives us reason for optimism for this weekend.”
In all, 21 players were on Thursday’s injury report compared to only six for Chicago. However, 10 of those players were full participation on Thursday, so the list is deceptively long. Eleven are on the final report, with eight who are questionable.
For the Bears, star receiver D.J. Moore is off the injury report but standout cornerback Jaylon Johnson is doubtful and slot corner Kyler Gordon was added to the injury report as questionable.
Tight end Cole Kmet and running back Khalil Herbert are questionable, as well. However, there are two big differences. Kmet was full participation on Friday while Herbert, who is coming off back-to-back 100-yard games, did not practice.
Here are the final injury reports.
Packers Final Injury Report
Out: RB AJ Dillon (thumb), S Rudy Ford (hamstring).
Doubtful: LB Isaiah McDuffie (concussion).
Questionable: LG Elgton Jenkins (knee/ankle), TE Luke Musgrave (kidney), WR Jayden Reed (chest), OLB Preston Smith (ankle), OT Luke Tenuta (ankle), WR Christian Watson (hamstring), WR Dontayvion Wicks (chest), RB Emanuel Wilson (shoulder).
Bears Final Injury Report
Out: WR Darnell Mooney (concussion).
Doubtful: CB Jaylon Johnson (shoulder), TE Marcedes Lewis (rest),
Questionable: CB Kyler Gordon (calf), RB Khalil Herbert (back/personal), TE Cole Kmet (knee), C Lucas Patrick (calf), LS Patrick Scales (foot).
