The Green Bay Packers could very well be without two of their most heavily used defensive lineman against the Chicago Bears, as coach Mike McCarthy ruled out Ryan Pickett and made Mike Neal questionable for Sunday’s game.
Pickett suffered a concussion against the Oakland Raiders in Week 14 and hasn’t played since. McCarthy made it sound early in the week like they were holding him out of practice just to be cautious, but Pickett obviously hasn’t shown enough improvement to give it a go on Sunday. His situation is worth monitoring now that this second concussion has caused him to miss two straight games.
Neal, who has dealt with shoulder injuries throughout his brief career in Green Bay, hurt his shoulder against the Kansas City Chiefs and has been limited this week in practice. It’s 50/50 whether he’ll play on Sunday. He’s been ineffective since returning from a knee injury suffered in training camp.
If neither can go, the Packers will be relying on a rotation of B.J. Raji, Jarius Wynn, C.J. Wilson and Howard Green as down lineman on Sunday. Even Green was listed with a foot injury but is probable to play.
A matchup to watch on Sunday will obviously be the Packers’ injury-plauged defensive line against Chicago’s much-maligned offensive line.
McCarthy also ruled out Chad Clifton (hamstring, back) and Greg Jennings (knee) on Friday. Neither were expected to play. McCarthy also said Jennings will be challenged to play against Detroit, but remained confident that Jennings would be back for the postseason.
Everyone else listed on the injury report, including James Starks, Brandon Saine and Desmond Bishop, are probable to play.
——————Zach Kruse is a 23-year-old sports journalist with a passion for the Green Bay Packers. He currently lives in Wisconsin and is working on his journalism degree, while also covering prep sports for The Dunn Co. News.
You can read more of Zach's Packers articles on AllGreenBayPackers.com.
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Games are won and lost in the trenches, our trenches are thin. The Pack needs to gut out a victory, lock up home field and eliminate the hated bears from the playoffs, all on national tv. Get a win and then rest all the ailing players in the last game.
The big loss is Pickett. Neal hasn’t been credited with a tackle this year and he’s injured again. Justin where are you when we need you?
I’m more worried about the O-line, hopefully they can do a decent job against the bears front 7. Also hope that Howard Greens foot holds up.
Two things needs to happen from this game. First, a Packers victory, second no more injuries! If this happens the Pack will have two full weeks to get healthy.