Packers-Eagles Final Injury Report: Huge Questions at Receiver

Already without tight end Tucker Kraft, the Green Bay Packers have major questions at receiver for Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Here’s the final injury report.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden is tackled during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Without Tucker Kraft, it’s going to take an all-hands-on-deck approach for the Green Bay Packers to put together a winning passing attack against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.

There might not be many hands available.

Receivers Dontayvion Wicks (calf), Matthew Golden (shoulder) and Savion Williams (foot) are questionable on coach Matt LaFleur’s final injury report. Wicks perhaps is poised to return to the lineup after being limited participation at his third consecutive practice. Golden did not practice for a second consecutive day and Williams was limited on Friday and Saturday after not practicing on Thursday.

Also questionable is right tackle Zach Tom (back).

As expected, defensive end Lukas Van Ness (foot) and cornerback Nate Hobbs (knee) are out. While surgery was not necessary, it will be the fourth consecutive game that Van Ness has missed.

“Absolutely,” LaFleur said when asked if the injury was more significant than believed after Van Ness missed the second half of the Cincinnati game on Oct. 12. “It did not heal as quickly as we thought. Injuries are always a tough deal. Sometimes they’re a moving target, so I think that everyone’s a little bit different. The hope was we’d have him back before this, and that hasn’t been the case. It’s certainly not anything he’s doing or not doing to try to get back.”

The Packers could face a significant challenge to move the ball through the air on Monday night with Jordan Love surrounded by a potentially watered-down supporting cast.

Kraft is second on the team with 32 receptions and is the most explosive weapon in an offense that thrives on yards after the catch. Golden is third with 23 receptions and has elite stretch-the-field ability. Along with Williams (seven) and Jayden Reed (six), 67 of the team’s 177 receptions could be on the sideline.

No wonder LaFleur said “hopefully” when asked about Wicks’ potential return after being inactive the last two games.

“I think he had a good day yesterday, although he was limited,” LaFleur said before Saturday’s practice. “So, we’ll see how he’s feeling out there today and then make a decision.”

Wicks has 13 catches in six games. While that ranks only fifth on the team, he is a high-quality route-runner and seemed to have put his drop problems from last year behind him.

“I look at it as a minor setback,” Wicks said of the injury. “It’s all about how you respond. Injuries happen in the game. I ain’t thinking it would keep me out but it did. I feel like I’m getting back to where I was. So, just looking forward to being back out there and making plays for the team.”

Golden played a season-low share of the snaps against Carolina due to the shoulder injury. That he didn’t practice the last two days is not a good sign, no matter the magnitude of the matchup.

“He’s fighting to play,” LaFleur said. “We’ll see how he’s feeling today, whether or not he goes out there and practices, but he’s got to be able to handle everything we’re throwing at him.”

Golden made almost no impact the last two games with five catches for just 13 yards, with the return of Christian Watson eating into his opportunities. However, to help offset the loss of Kraft, the team was hoping to get him going again after a four-game stretch of 16 receptions for 233 yards.

Williams has been nothing more than a role player on offense – he had a touchdown at Pittsburgh but a fumble against Carolina – but was having a solid stretch as the team’s primary kickoff returner.

If the rookies can’t play, the Packers at receiver would be down to Romeo Doubs, Watson (who is coming off a knee injury), Wicks (who is coming off a calf injury) and Malik Heath (who was added to the injury report on Friday with a hip injury but is not on the final injury report).

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden (0) runs onto the field before the game against the Carolina Panthers. | Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Packers probably would add one of the four receivers on the practice squad: rookies Will Sheppard, Isaiah Neyor and Jakobie Keeney-James and third-year pro Michael Woods II, who was signed this week.

At kicker, Brandon McManus is off the injury report and will kick, despite his struggles since returning from an injured right quad. He is second-to-last in field-goal percentage this season, ahead of only the Rams’ Joshua Karty, who has been benched.

LaFleur mentioned McManus’ “body of work” with the team and his career.

“I just think he’s frustrated a little bit,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said. “This is the first time he’s coming off of an injury, so I think he’s frustrated a little bit with where the ball’s going, whether it’s going left and it’s a miss or it goes right and it’s miss or it hits the upright and it’s a miss. Those have been the things that have happened.

“So, he’s got to get his groove back, and really the only way to do that is in practice. We’re dealing with the elements all the time, which is a good thing for him, and he’s conquering that in practice. We’re going to lean on a guy that’s had a tremendous performance up to this point, and we expect him to keep performing at a higher level as we get going. There’s still a lot of football left.”

Also off the injury report is defensive end Micah Parsons. He was limited participation with a pectoral injury on Thursday and Friday; illness was added to the report on Saturday. Defensive tackle Colby Wooden, who missed most of the Carolina game with a shoulder injury, will return to the lineup.

For the Eagles, who are coming off their bye and have a mostly healthy roster, Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens didn’t practice this week and will miss a second consecutive game with a knee injury.

Outside linebacker Nolan Smith, who had two sacks of Jordan Love in the playoff game, was designated to return from injured reserve this week following a triceps injury. He was full participation on Saturday and is questionable.

Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo, who has a team-high four sacks, cleared the concussion protocol and does not have an injury designation. Also off the injury report is receiver A.J. Brown, who was inactive in the game before the bye because of a hamstring injury.

Packers Final Injury Report

Out: CB Nate Hobbs (knee), DE Lukas Van Ness (foot).

Questionable: WR Matthew Golden (shoulder), RT Zach Tom (back), WR Dontayvion Wicks (calf), WR Savion Williams (foot).

Eagles Final Injury Report

Out: C Cam Jurgens (knee).

Questionable: CB Jakorian Bennett (pectoral), G Willie Lampkin (knee/ankle), OLB Nolan Smith (triceps).

Note: Bennett, Lampkin and Smith are on injured reserve. The Eagles have until 3 p.m. Monday to activate them for the game.

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