Packers Roster Moves Not Made Were Most Important Before Facing Lions

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers made four roster moves on Wednesday, one day before Thursday’s game against the Detroit Lions. Sometimes, it’s the roster moves that weren’t made that are the most important.

Here’s the breakdown.

Not Elevated: RB Pierre Strong

The Packers did not elevate running back Pierre Strong from the practice squad. That would guarantee Josh Jacobs will be back in the lineup against the Lions.

Jacobs injured his knee against the Giants. Before hosting the Vikings on Sunday, the Packers elevated Strong from the practice squad and made Jacobs one of their inactives.

There will be no drama this week. Maybe the workload will be more evenly divided between Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson, who rushed for more than 100 yards last week, but Jacobs will play in one of the biggest games of the season.

It’s no surprise. Jacobs said as much last week.

“Oh yeah, worst case. If I don’t play this week, [then] Thursday I’m definitely playing,” Jacobs said. “It’s not like something that’ll linger over the past that. That’s really the worst-case scenario.”

Jacobs carried 19 times for 66 yards and one touchdown against Detroit in Week 1.

Strong was on the gameday roster last week but did not play.

Not Activated: WR Jayden Reed

Not surprisingly, Jayden Reed’s return to the lineup will have to wait until next week against the Chicago Bears.

Reed, who already was dealing with a foot injury, suffered a broken collarbone in Week 2 against Washington. He was placed on injured reserve and had surgery to fix both injuries.

The Packers opened Reed’s return-to-play window last week. He practiced for the first time on the Friday before the Minnesota game. The team didn’t practice this week.

“I think it’s all about time on task and getting the practice reps in and staying in that rhythm,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Tuesday. “So, there’s always going to be a little bit of just a re-acclimation, I would say, in terms of return to play. But he’s a great competitor. Certainly, can feed off his playmaking ability and the energy that he brings, not only to our offense but our football team.”

Promoted: WR Will Sheppard

The Packers, who are banged up at receiver, did make one roster move to address the position. The team didn’t practice this week. If it would have, Savion Williams (foot) would not have practiced and Matthew Golden (wrist), who was inactive last week, would have been limited.

With Keisean Nixon’s uncertain status meaning Bo Melton will have to focus on being a backup cornerback rather than a backup receiver, Sheppard was signed to the active roster.

Sheppard caught 3-of-4 targets for 23 yards and one touchdown in the preseason. He was added to the roster just before the start of training camp. After four seasons at Vanderbilt in which he had seasons of 43, 47 and 60 receptions, he transferred to Deion Sanders-coached Colorado for his final season and caught 48 passes for 621 yards.

If he plays, this will be his NFL debut.

Released: K Lucas Havrisik

To make room for Sheppard, the Packers released kicker Lucas Havrisik. He made his first 10 kicks, including a team-record 61-yard field goal, but missed two point-after tries in the wind against the Giants.

It’s a sign that veteran kicker Brandon McManus is healthy and out of his slump.

“I’d like to hope so,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said. “I think that’s what it showed on Sunday, right? The biggest place to look at is the timing of what he was doing was good, but then his kickoffs. His kickoffs, location-wise, were really good. There was one of those two touchbacks we’d like to have back, but his location on the kicks worked really well.”

Elevated: DB Jaylin Simpson

With Keisean Nixon dealing with a stinger sustained on Sunday and iffy for Thursday’s game, the Packers elevated Jaylin Simpson to provide depth in the secondary.

A fifth-round pick by the Colts last year who did not play in any games as a rookie, Simpson was added to the roster toward the end of training camp and impressed with his athleticism. In college, he played safety and cornerback.

At Auburn, he said he had a “Plankton mentality.”

Elevated: LB Jamon Johnson

For the second consecutive week, the Packers elevated undrafted rookie linebacker Jamon Johnson in response to Quay Walker’s uncertain status. Walker suffered a stinger against the Giants and was inactive for the Minnesota game after not practicing all week. He would have been limited participation had the team practiced this week.

Johnson wound up being inactive for last week’s game, so this would be his NFL debut.

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER