The (4-2) Green Bay Packers play against the (3-2) Detroit Lions on the road at Ford Field in Week 7 of the regular season. For Green Bay to beat Detroit, they must contain superstar running back Jahmyr Gibbs and avoid repeating Week 3’s disaster, when Bijan Robinson rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Pro Bowl captain Zaire Franklin must step up against the run and avoid repeating his poor performance against the Falcons, when he missed tackles and slipped on several occasions.
Unfortunately, Franklin popped up on Thursday’s injury report with a shin injury and was limited in practice.
The Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl captain suffers freak injury, out Week 7
During Friday’s press conference, Matt LaFleur told the media that Zaire Franklin took a knee to the shin and will not play against the Lions, as reported by Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. Although the Packers are working through it, LaFleur added that he doesn’t expect Franklin to be sidelined long-term and doesn’t consider him an injured reserve candidate.
Zaire Franklin is OUT for Sunday after getting a knee to the shin in practice yesterday, per MLF.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) October 23, 2026
His absence leaves Green Bay with four other linebackers on the active roster: Isaiah McDuffie and Ty’Ron Hopper, and core special teamers Nick Niemann and Kristian Welch. McDuffie and Hopper have split duties, with Edgerrin Cooper sidelined, while McDuffie will likely serve as the middle linebacker and wear the green dot. Meanwhile, Niemann, who has had only one defensive snap (last year’s Wild Card Round) since 2024, will serve as the top backup.
The Packers may elevate either core special teamer/EDGE rusher Arron Mosby or undrafted free agent linebacker Jack Dingle to the game-day roster. Dingle spent the offseason with the Bengals before being released during roster cuts. He signed with the Packers’ practice squad on October 8. With McDuffie and Hopper taking on full-time defensive roles in Week 7, Mosby could be elevated for the second time this season to help ease the load off the two starters, as McDuffie plays the second-most special-teams snaps and Hopper plays the fourth-most.
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