Packer Central

Packers-Cowboys Final Injury Report: Which Team Has Biggest Problem?

The Green Bay Packers are banged up on the offensive line. So are the Dallas Cowboys. Which team is hurt worse by the final injury report of the week? Here’s the full breakdown.
Bill Huber|
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is out for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is out for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers. | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – As expected, the Green Bay Packers probably will line up to face the Dallas Cowboys without three of their top seven offensive linemen on Sunday night.

Here are this week’s final injury reports and which team has the edge.

Green Bay Packers: Three of Top Seven Linemen Might Be Out

Right tackle Zach Tom (oblique) and rookie tackle Anthony Belton (ankle) are out. Left guard Aaron Banks (groin) is doubtful so probably won’t play, either.

“That’s the nature of the NFL,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “Some years it’s wide receivers, some years it’s running backs, some years it’s offensive line. So, it’s not like it’s new to us. And we’ve kind of gone through this in past years.

“The thing is, you can’t make excuses. Because winning and losing, that’s what it’s all about. The expectation is for the position. So, whoever’s playing right guard or left guard or whatever, the expectation is to go out there and help the Green Bay Packers win. I’m just excited to go out there and watch how these guys respond and play.”

At right tackle, the Packers haven’t had the same starter in back-to-back weeks this season and have had four blockers play at least 30 snaps at that position this season. Heck, they had four players at right tackle last week.

Tom suffered an oblique injury in Week 1 against Detroit and was inactive in Week 2 against Washington, with Belton making his first start against the Commanders. Tom returned to the lineup for Week 3 at Cleveland but dropped out after the first play. Jordan Morgan played the rest of the first half and Belton played most of the rest of the second half.

This week, it could be Darian Kinnard. A fifth-round pick by the Chiefs in 2022, he’s started only one game in his career but has played right tackle in every game this season after being acquired before final roster cuts last month.

“Very diligent, works really hard,” Stenavich said. “He’s kind of a quiet guy, not super-outgoing, but his work ethic’s great, really serious, and just takes his job seriously and is a professional. He’s done a good job so far.

Green Bay might not be able to withstand additional injuries. If it’s Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Morgan at left guard, Elgton Jenkins at center, Sean Rhyan at right guard and Kinnard at right tackle, the reserves would be backups Donovan Jennings and Brant Banks and practice-squad players Cooper Dalton and Lecitus Smith.

Smith, who played 209 snaps as a rookie sixth-round pick for the Cardinals in 2022 and five snaps for the Patriots in 2024, is the only one of those four who played in a regular-season game. He spent training camp with the Packers this year and was signed to the practice squad this week.

Safety Javon Bullard, one of the team’s most improved players, practiced as limited participation on Thursday and Friday but remains in the concussion protocol and is questionable.

The Packers had 14 players on their initial injury reports of the week. Only four players are on the final report, with left tackle Rasheed Walker (quad), defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (knee), defensive end Micah Parsons (back), quarterback Jordan Love (thumb), running back Josh Jacobs (ankle), tight end Tucker Kraft (knee) among those off the report.

Dallas Cowboys: Two Starters Out (and More)

The Cowboys have the biggest name on this week’s injury reports with CeeDee Lamb out with a high-ankle sprain. He was second-team All-Pro in 2022, when he caught 107 passes for 1,359 yards, first-team All-Pro in 2023, when he led the NFL with 135 receptions and scored 12 touchdowns, and second-team All-Pro again in 2024, when he recorded his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season.

“When you’re watching it on film, they were a really explosive offense from Week 1 to 3 with CeeDee on the field,” Packers defensive end and former Cowboys star Micah Parsons said.

The absence of Lamb will mean more chances for George Pickens, who led the NFL in yards per catch while with the Steelers in 2023,

“I’m either going to get the flag or I’m going to make the catch, whether there’s two, three, four, five guys” in coverage, Pickens told reporters this week.

Lamb’s injury also will elevate the role of All-Pro kick returner KaVontae Turpin, who had 31 catches for 420 yards last season.

“He’s kind of the straw that stirs the drink out there,” Dallas offensive coordinator Klayton Adams told reporters on Thursday.

As is the case with the Packers, Dallas’ offensive line is in rough shape. Rookie right guard Tyler Booker is out with a high-ankle sprain and center Cooper Beebe, a 16-game starter as a rookie last year, is on injured reserve.

Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown is on PUP following last year’s season-ending knee injury. A third-round pick in 2023, he had a breakout season last year with 90 tackles, including five sacks and eight for losses, plus four passes defensed and one interception last season.

Defensive end Payton Turner, defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey and receiver Jonathan Mingo are on injured reserve, as well. Turner, a first-round pick by the Saints in 2021, has only five career sacks but could have been an asset following the Parsons trade. Mingo might have helped offset the loss of Lamb.

At least the Cowboys, who have one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, will be solid in the secondary. Cornerbacks Trevon Diggs (knee) and DaRon Bland (foot) will play. Bland has played only one game while Diggs has missed big chunks of two games.

Which Team Is Feeling Most Pain?

It’s hard to replace CeeDee Lamb, but it’s not as if Dak Prescott will be throwing passes to himself.

George Pickens is an elite contested-catch player; whether he’ll thrive or flop under the primetime spotlight is anyone’s guess. KaVontae Turpin is electric in the open field. Jake Ferguson, who scored three touchdowns against the Packers in the 2023 wild-card game, entered Week 4 with eight more catches than any other tight end.

The bigger problem for Dallas is its offensive line against Green Bay’s dominant defensive front. Led by Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary, the Packers are in a much better position to beat Dallas’ depleted line than the Cowboys will be to take advantage of Green Bay’s injuries.

Advantage: Packers.

Packers Final Injury Report

Out: OT Anthony Belton (ankle), RT Zach Tom (oblique).

Doubtful: LG Aaron Banks (groin),

Questionable: S Javon Bullard (concussion).

Cowboys Final Injury Report

Out: RG Tyler Booker (ankle), WR CeeDee Lamb (ankle).

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.