Packers Injury Report: Keisean Nixon returns to practice

As we wrote earlier today, the Green Bay Packers no longer have the freedom to have players on the 53-man roster miss games with injury without making some sort of corresponding moves to bring in their replacements. Here’s the good news: One player who did not practice on Wednesday, cornerback Keisean Nixon, practiced on Thursday, even though he was limited.

The bad news? Receiver Skyy Moore (ankle), defensive lineman Javon Hargrave (Achilles), defensive lineman Jonathan Ford (calf) and cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (hamstring) missed a second straight day of practice. The assumption is that Hargrave will go on the injured reserve soon for his torn Achilles, while it appears that Moore will miss a couple of weeks with an ankle injury that has left him in a boot and on a scooter. While St-Juste’s and Ford’s injuries haven’t been discussed much in press conferences, their missing back-to-back practices means that their chances to play on Sunday are likely in doubt.

At minimum, the team will need to bring up an extra receiver this week, be it Savion Williams (who is currently practicing with the team despite being on the injured reserve list) or a practice squad option (Isaiah Neyor, Quincy Skinner Jr. or Coleman Owen). Once Hargrave goes on the injured reserve, the Packers will have two open roster spots on the 53-man roster, and they’ll also have the option to use two game-day practice squad elevations this week, which should help smooth out the holes on the roster if the injured players can’t suit up against the Dallas Cowboys.

To keep it simple, think of the Packers’ roster situation this way: Functionally, with the expectation that Hargrave will go on IR soon, the team has a 51-man roster. A game-day roster is made of 48 players, and the Packers rarely carry more than 8 offensive linemen into games, but they’re currently carrying 11 on the active roster. You can basically lock in that Green Bay will scratch three offensive linemen already, leaving them with the minimum of 48 players — the amount needed to fill a game-day roster…but that’s with the assumption that all of those players will be healthy. So for every injured player who can’t play on Sunday (besides offensive linemen or Hargrave), the team will need to backfill (likely at the same position).

Beyond the non-participants, the following players were listed as limited for a second-straight practice: guard Aaron Banks (knee/toe), defensive lineman Anthony Campbell (ankle), offensive lineman Jacob Monk (quadricep), defensive lineman Jordon Riley (Achilles, practice window player), receiver Savion Williams (ankle, practice window player) and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt (ankle, practice window player).

On the Cowboys’ end of the injury report, their non-participants on Thursday were cornerback Cobie Durant (hamstring) and tackle Drew Shelton (hamstring). Their limited players in practice were linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring) and cornerback Ameer Speed (knee).

To say the least, one of these teams is a bit more banged up than the other.