Packers-Chiefs Final Injury Report: Eight Dubious Players Included in Jayden Reed and Jaire Alexander
When the Green Bay Packers meet the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, two of their best players could be available. Jayden Reed came back, and Jaire Alexander resumed his practice.
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: Cornerback Jaire Alexander of the Green Bay Packers practiced for the third straight day on Friday, seemingly ready for the primetime game against MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
This week’s practice for rookie receiver Jayden Reed, who has become one of the team’s most potent weapons, gave fans hope that he would be prepared for an NFL defense that is among the best.
Reversing course The lone player out is Aaron Jones (knee). There are eight players that are doubtful, including Alexander (shoulder) and Reed (chest).
Alexander has played in only five of 11 games this season. He missed the last three games with a shoulder injury sustained while creating an interception against the Chargers.
“We’ll see how he got through today and where he’s at on Sunday,” coach Matt LaFleur said after Friday’s practice.
That he practiced all week is a big development.
Said defensive coordinator Joe Barry: “I’ve told you guys before, [when] you’re talking about a player that’s dealing with something, I know as a coach, he might have a great Wednesday. You just hope, ‘OK, when he comes in Thursday, he still feels good.’ We just take it day by day. He had a good day yesterday. He came in, felt good today, had a good day today. Hopefully, that continues and he has a great Friday.”
With Mahomes on his way to a sixth consecutive 4,000-yard season – he led the NFL with 5,250 passing yards and 41 touchdowns en route to MVP honors last year – the presence of Alexander can’t be overstated, even though Carrington Valentine and Corey Ballentine have held down the fort in his absence.
With a revamped receiver corps, it hasn’t exactly been a typical Mahomes season. His yards per attempt is down a full yard from last year and he’s on pace for a career-worst 14 interceptions.
But he is the reigning AFC player of the week after completing a season-best 79.4 percent of his passes, good for 298 yards and a passer rating of 122.9, in leading the Chiefs back from a 14-0 deficit to beat the Raiders 31-17.
If the Packers are going to keep pace with a living-legend quarterback, they’ll have to put up some points against a defense that ranks third in points allowed, third in passing yards per attempt, sixth in yards per play and second in sack percentage
From that perspective, the potential return of Reed, who has played through a chest injury the past two games, would be a huge boost.
“They’ve got a lot of really competitive guys in the secondary,” Reed said. “I see that first and foremost. Those guys play with extreme effort. They get after it. That will be a good challenge for us as a receiver group. I think we’re ready. We’ve prepared for it.”
He was limited participation, LaFleur said.
It’s “definitely not” ideal for a rookie to go into a big game with just one practice, but offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich was confident that Reed could contribute.
“He’s always been a pretty sharp guy,” Stenavich said. “We’re just going to take it day by day, get him healthy and hopefully he can be out there on Sunday.”
Among rookie receivers, Reed is eighth with 36 receptions, seventh with a team-high 497 receiving yards and tied for third with five touchdowns. Reed is first with seven receptions of 30-plus yards and tied for second with six receptions on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield.
On the other hand, running back Aaron Jones missed the week of practice and will miss a second consecutive game with a knee injury. He went through warmups with the rest of the team but didn’t have his helmet and stayed inside to work with a trainer while everybody else went out.
Jones and cornerback Robert Rochell were the only players who did not go out for the start of practice. Jones is the only player who is out.
Defensive tackle Kenny Clark (shoulder), running back AJ Dillon (groin) and outside linebacker Rashan Gary (shoulder), who were limited on Wednesday and Thursday, are not on the final report.
Safety Darnell Savage and cornerback Eric Stokes, who are on injured reserve but have been designated to return, practiced all three days this week. Savage, who was full participation on Wednesday and Thursday, almost certainly will be back in the starting lineup on Sunday.
Savage is questionable and Stokes is doubtful.
“He’s a guy that has played a lot of football for us,” LaFleur said. “Obviously, he’s got a great grasp of what we’re trying to accomplish. He’s a hell of a communicator, and he’s a rangy guy. I think that’s what he’s brought for a long time.”
On Thursday, the Packers had 12 players who did not practice or were limited. The Chiefs had only two; all 53 players practiced.
On Friday, LaFleur listed 10 on the final injury report. The Chiefs listed only two, with linebacker Nick Bolton (wrist; designated to return from IR) out and running back Jerick McKinnon (groin) questionable.
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