Packers-Browns Wednesday Injury Update: Good News on Offensive Line

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With a huge matchup against the Cleveland Browns’ powerhouse defensive line looming on Sunday, the Green Bay Packers got a bit of good news on Wednesday with the returns of right tackle Zach Tom and left guard Aaron Banks.

Banks (ankle/groin) and Tom (oblique) were inactive for Thursday’s win over the Washington Commanders and didn’t practice upon the team’s return to work on Monday. Cornerback Bo Melton (shoulder), who like Tom and Banks was injured in Week 1 and was inactive in Week 2, returned, as well.

Speaking to reporters before practice, coach Matt LaFleurr said Tom and Banks would be limited participants. Based on the media-viewing window, it appeared Banks was moving better than Tom.

Whoever lines up on the offensive line on Sunday will face a tremendous challenge. The Browns enter Week 3 ranked No. 1 in total defense, No. 1 in rushing defense and No. 3 in passing defense. While defensive end Myles Garrett is the headliner – and for good reason – he’s not the only difference maker on their defense.

Garrett, who has at least 10 sacks in seven consecutive seasons, leads the NFL with 3.5 sacks. Among defensive ends, Garrett is fourth in pass-rush win rate and Isaiah McGuire is 15th, according to Pro Football Focus. Among defensive tackles, Maliek Collins is second in pass-rush win rate. His running-mate, Mason Graham, was the fifth pick of this year’s draft.

“Obviously,” LaFleur said before practice, “I think a lot of it starts with their front and it’s not just Myles. We all know what kind of player that Myles Garrett is, but they’ve got a lot of guys are a hard penetrating front that cause a lot of problems for quarterbacks.”

Last week, the Browns were blown out 41-17 at Baltimore. The Browns’ defense, however, went mostly blame-free. Baltimore’s defense provided one touchdown and its offense had touchdown drives of 5, 24 and 36 yards.

Cleveland is allowing just 191.5 yards per game. That includes 45.5 yards on the ground and 146.0 through the air. Opponents are averaging 2.07 yards per carry after it held Ravens running back Derrick Henry to 23 yards on 11 carries. By contrast, in his debut season with Baltimore last year, Henry had nine games of more than 100 rushing yards and only one with less than 65 (46 in his first game).

“There’s been a lot of ugly runs on tape when going against this defense,” LaFleur said.

Green Bay’s running game hasn’t really gotten started. Injuries up front haven’t helped matters, though rookie second-round pick Anthony Belton fared well in place of Tom against the Commanders.

“I thought he just did a great job,” LaFleur said. “All in all, it obviously starts with knowing what to do, but going out there and playing with really good physicality. He had a couple knockdown blocks. The one play that you’d like to have back is the holding penalty, where we just got a little loose and wide with our arms. That caused a holding penalty and took points off the board, but outside of that, I thought he played really, really well.”

While Belton showed promise, the Packers handed Tom a contract extension for a reason. He’s one of the best in the business. He was a major reason why the Lions’ star defensive end, Aidan Hutchinson, didn’t have so much as a tackle in Week 1.

Banks was the team’s biggest free-agent addition, with the former 49ers starter inking a four-year contract worth $77 million to play left guard as part of a revamped offensive line. Last year’s first-round pick, Jordan Morgan, spent most of training camp playing left tackle and struggled a bit in replacing Banks vs. Washington.

“He’s been super-resilient and has attacked it with a great mindset and attitude,” LaFleur said of Morgan. “And that could be frustrating for a lot of players, is you want to get in a groove and stay at one spot. But I do think that’s one of the things that has allowed us to be flexible up front is our ability to train these guys in other spots. It might not be the best for the short term, but I think in the long term, it’s the best play.”

The only player on the 53-man roster who did not practice was receiver Jayden Reed, who is recovering from surgeries to repair a broken collarbone as well as his foot.

Reed had been playing through a foot injury before the collarbone injury sustained on the opening series against Washington. Already needing surgery for the collarbone, Reed opted for surgery on the foot, as well.

Asked if the foot surgery would impact Reed’s timeline, LaFleur said, “I think it’ll actually help him in the long run.”

UPDATE: Here is Wednesday’s injury report.

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