Injury luck certainly has not been on the Green Bay Packers’ side thus far in the 2023 season. They have been hit hard by the injury bug in the early going, missing key players for multiple games through the first five weeks of the season.
Left tackle David Bakhtiari was placed on injured reserve ahead of their Week 4 game with the Detroit Lions because of a knee issue and he may be sidelined for the remainder of the season. Left guard Elgton Jenkins has been dealing with a knee injury of his own and hasn’t played since Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons.
Another key player who hasn’t been able to get on the field much in the last four weeks is running back Aaron Jones. Jones injured his hamstring on his catch-and-run touchdown against the Chicago Bears in Week 1 of the season. While it was downplayed originally, the injury was bad enough that it kept him sidelined for Weeks 2 and 3.
Jones was able to get back into the lineup in Week 4 on a very limited basis against the Lions. The score likely played a part in him not being too involved as the Packers were blown out. However, at some point during that game or the mini-bye week that ensued, Jones suffered a setback leading up to the Monday Night Football showdown with the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5.
According to Packers’ head coach Matt LaFleur, Jones was pushing to play in the game against the Raiders. However, a group consisting of LaFleur, general manager Brian Gutekunst and the medical staff opted against it. With Green Bay now on bye in Week 6, Jones will have had 24 days of rest between games.
“[We] definitely felt it was in the best interest to not risk it,” LaFleur said Monday night. “He wanted to go, and this guy is battling. … He wanted desperately to be out there today and to help his team, but we have a lot of football in front of us. We’ve got 12 games in front of us, and we’re going to need him for the duration of those.”
LaFleur also revealed that Jones felt a little something while the team was practicing on Saturday, which led to him not being cleared to get on the field. A definitive about his status in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos wasn’t provided, but the head coach certainly hopes his star running back can get back out there.
After scoring 38 points against the Bears in Week 1 with Jones in the lineup, the Packers offense has stalled in the next four games. They have scored 20 or fewer points in three straight games and have lost three out of four heading into their bye.
