Packers-Browns Final Injury Report: Which Team at Greater Disadvantage?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Right tackle Zach Tom and tight end Tucker Kraft are questionable for the Green Bay Packers’ game at the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Here’s a closer look at the key injuries and which team has the advantage.

Packers TE Tucker Kraft: Questionable

Premier tight end Tucker Kraft suffered a knee injury at practice on Thursday and did not practice on Friday.

“I couldn’t tell you,” coach Matt LaFleur said when asked if Kraft would play on Sunday.

Kraft, who leads the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, declined an interview request when he briefly popped into the locker room after Friday’s practice.

“He’s a great player,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters in Cleveland on Friday. “We think very highly of their tight end room. That entire group is really good. They have weapons, they always spread the ball around. That’s kind of their pass attack; it’s not focused on one person.”

With or without Kraft, there will be added opportunities for Luke Musgrave and John FitzPatrick. Musgrave is a downfield threat and FitzPatrick a proven blocker, but neither have the all-around skill of Kraft.

“Whether Tuck can go or not, that’ll be more opps for Luke,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s a guy that we obviously think very, very highly of and are confident that he can go out there and do a great job for us.”

Packers Offensive Line

Going against Cleveland’s powerful defensive front, left guard Aaron Banks will be back in the lineup but right tackle Zach Tom is questionable.

“I did a little bit of practice today and we’ll see how it goes on Sunday,” Tom said. “But, obviously, the long-term does play a part into it but, sh**, I want to be out there. But it’s kind of like two sides pulling against each other. Because I want to be out there, but I also want to be able to play well. And I think the biggest thing is just going to be, am I confident? And, how bad is the pain? It’s just weighing the options and going from there.”

If Tom can’t play, rookie Anthony Belton presumably would start for a second consecutive week.

“He’s a rookie, so going in, he’s going to play like a rookie, but I was pleasantly surprised, not just how well he played, but just everything – his effort, his intensity, his detail,” offensive line coach Luke Butkus said. “He had a few things to clean up, we all do, every game, every play, every practice, but he was locked in, ready to play, and it wasn’t too big for him.”

Don’t Forget Jayden Reed

Jayden Reed, the team’s leading receiver the past two seasons, remains on the roster following last week’s broken collarbone. Presumably, the Packers will place him on injured reserve on Saturday.

That would leave the Packers with a 51-man roster after placing defensive end Brenton Cox on injured reserve last week but not filling the roster spot.

With a healthy roster other than Tom, Kraft and Reed, the Packers might opt to pull a couple players up from the practice squad on Saturday but not fill the vacant spots.

Off the Packers’ Injury Report

Left guard Aaron Banks (groin) and cornerback Bo Melton (shoulder), who were inactive last week after suffering injuries in Week 1, are off the injury report.

“Yeah, I’ll play,” Banks said on Wednesday.

Running back Josh Jacobs downplayed an ankle injury that limited him at practice all week.

“It’s just something I’m managing day to day,” Jacobs said on Thursday.

Key Cleveland Browns Injuries

For Cleveland, defensive tackle Mike Hall (knee), who started three games last season as a rookie, is out. Left guard Joel Bitonio (back), right tackle Jack Conklin (elbow), receiver/returner DeAndre Carter (concussion) and kicker Andrew Szmyt (calf) are questionable.

“We’ll have to see over the next 48 (hours),” Stefanski said of Conklin, a former All-Pro who was injured in Week 1, inactive in Week 2 and limited in practice all week.

Bitonio, who missed all three practices this week, has been a Pro Bowler each of the last seven seasons.

Much like how Green Bay’s beat-up offensive line must contend with Cleveland’s attacking defense, the Browns’ beat-up offensive line must contend with Green Bay’s swarming defense.

“What have I seen from them? I’ve seen 33 quarterback pressures and eight sacks. It’s a really, really good front,” Browns offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren told reporters on Friday.

It’s not just the injury report for the Browns. Cornerback Martin Emerson and linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Winston Reid and Nathaniel Watson are on reserve lists.

Emerson, a third-round pick in 2022, started 12 games in 2023, when he intercepted four passes, added 14 passes defensed and allowed a 46.8 percent catch rate, and 15 games in 2024, when he slumped to zero interceptions, four passes defensed and a 60.8 percent catch rate. He suffered a torn Achilles at the start of training camp.

Owusu-Koramoah, a second-round pick in 2021, started 41 games in four seasons, including all eight appearances last year. He was a Pro Bowler in 2023, when he had 101 tackles, 20 tackles for losses, two interceptions and six passes defensed. He is out with a neck injury sustained last season.

Reid and Watson combined to play 199 snaps with four starts on defense and 616 snaps on special teams last season.

Packers-Browns Bottom Line

The Packers don’t have a lot of injuries but it’s the quality of players rather than the quantity. Zach Tom is one of the NFL’s best offensive linemen. Tucker Kraft is one of the NFL’s top tight ends. Jayden Reed is the team’s best receiver.

Those are huge losses – or potential losses - against a powerful Browns defense. That gives the injury advantage to Cleveland.

Packers Final Injury Report

Out: WR Jayden Reed (foot, shoulder).

Questionable: TE Tucker Kraft (knee), RT Zach Tom (oblique).

Browns Final Injury Report

Out: DT Mike Hall (knee).

Questionable: LG Joel Bitonio (back), WR/Ret DeAndre Carter (concussion), RT Jack Conklin (elbow).