Packers-Lions Thursday Injury Report: Three Huge Updates for Green Bay

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love progressed to full participation at practice on Thursday. Barring an unforeseen setback, he is locked in for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions.

There were two additions to the injury report, and they are big ones. Starting linebacker and team captain Zaire Franklin (shin) and starting edge defender and leading pass rusher Lukas Van Ness (illness) were limited participation.

Franklin is second on the team with 41 tackles. He had games of 10, nine and eight before only three last week against Dallas, though he did have a big quarterback hit early in the game. Van Ness leads the team with 3.5 sacks and nine quarterback hits. As the team’s best pass rusher, the defense will need him to make life uncomfortable for Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

The Packers, who are coming off a Sunday night game, have 12 players on their injury report. The Lions, who are coming off their bye, have only three.

However, only one Green Bay player didn’t practice, receiver Bo Melton (back). Fellow receivers Christian Watson (ankle), Matthew Golden (shoulder) and Savion Williams (ankle) were limited participation. There’s no reason for concern, though. Watson and Golden will play, coach Matt LaFleur said before practice, and Williams made his season debut last week following an ankle injury that kept him out for five games.

Big Help on the Way?

Defensive tackle Jordon Riley is in his second game back from a torn Achilles.

“I think he’s shown a ton of progress,” LaFleur said before practice. “It was good to get him out there last week and get his feet wet a little bit. If he continues to show that progress, then we’ll see where we’re at and he’d be ready to go.”

Riley completed his fifth practice and has been limited in all five.

“It’s really like riding a bike, man,” he said after practice. “So each day, you going to get better. Each day, you going to remember things that you learned in the past, stuff like that. Day 1 stuff. I’m in a better spot than I ever thought I was going to be as far as technical standpoint. Each day, I learned something with my game and each day I’ve been coached up to fix it the next day. So, we doing a good job with that.”

Center of Attention

Center Sean Rhyan has played all 389 snaps this season but there was a brief scare when he was slow to get up after Love’s interception.

“They came to me,” Rhyan said. “I was like, what the f*** do I need to get checked for?”

He had to go through concussion testing, cleared it between series, and was right back on the field.

“They were saying that I got up slow or something,” he said. “When you got [Anthony Belton’s] big body falling on you, sometimes it’s like, ‘Ah, let me just feel myself real quick.’”

As the center of the line, Rhyan will have a big role in helping the offense navigate the noise at Ford Field.

“Just got to listen a little harder, I guess,” he said. “We played there a lot, we kind of know what to expect – real hostile, real loud, kind of dark, on turf. Just keep on going, you know? But at the end of the game, we’re still playing 11 on 11. So, we’re going to go over there and do our thing.”

Lions Injury Update

The update is there is no update. The Lions’ injury report is unchanged from Wednesday, with every player practicing and only one player – cornerback Rock Ya-Sin (hamstring) – limited participation against while safety Brian Branch (Achilles) and center Cade Mays (wrist) were full participation.

All three players are starters. Branch is set to make his season debut following last year’s Achilles injury and Mays is poised to make his season debut, as well, after starting 12 games for the Panthers last year.

Branch will not be on a rep count, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard told reporters earlier in the week.

“Whenever you could gain a player like BB and his caliber back, it’s outstanding. You know what I mean? I’m not big on giving you projections and, ‘Oh, he’s going to do this, he’s going to do that.’ It’s just beautiful to have BB back. There are multiple things, obviously, that player can do to help us, and we’ll find the spots that we feel is right and he feels right for him as we progress here.”

Packers Thursday Injury Report

Did not participate: WR Bo Melton (back).

Limited participation: LG Aaron Banks (knee/toe), DT Anthony Campbell (ankle), CB Brandon Cisse (hip), LB Zaire Franklin (shin), Matthew Golden (shoulder), DT Jordon Riley (Achilles), CB Benjamin St-Juste (hamstring), edge Lukas Van Ness (illness), WR Christian Watson (ankle), WR Savion Williams (ankle).

Full participation: QB Jordan Love (back).

Riley has been designated to return from injured reserve and is within his 21-day practice windows.

Lions Thursday Injury Report

Limited participation: CB Rock Ya-Sin (hamstring).

Full participation: S Brian Branch (Achilles), C Cade Mays (wrist).

Branch has been designated to return from injured reserve and is within his 21-day practice windows.

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