Packers’ roster has a chance to become even stronger and deeper over the next few days with important moves on the horizon
Those are impactful possibilities.
Life goes fast. Four weeks of the NFL regular season have already gone by, which means players who started the season on the injured reserve with a designation for return, on the physically unable to perform list, or on the non-football injury list are already eligible to return to practice and games.
That’s great news for the Green Bay Packers, who had impactful pieces sidelined during the first month of the season — they missed the games versus the Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns, and Dallas Cowboys.
In each case, the team must designate the players for return at some point—for players on PUP/NFI, this must be during the regular season. When the team does that, it triggers a 21-day practice window without counting towards the 53-man roster limit.
However, the Packers can activate the players at any point during the 21-day period. Whenever they do it, the player starts to count towards the roster limit and is eligible to play.
Players who are eligible to return
RB MarShawn Lloyd (IR-DFR) — He suffered a hamstring injury in preseason and should be good to go sooner rather than later.
C Jacob Monk (IR-DFR) — Same situation, suffering a hamstring injury in preseason.
EDGE Collin Oliver (PUP) — Oliver missed his entire rookie training camp due to a hamstring injury. It’s possible that the Packers will take advantage of a ramp-up period to get him acclimated.
WR Christian Watson (PUP) — Recovering from an ACL injury. He’s now eligible to return, but the Packers expect him to get back later in October or early November at the latest.
G John Williams (PUP) — The seventh-rounder also missed his first training camp with a back injury. It’s unclear when he will be able to practice and play.
Players who could return later
Brenton Cox (IR) — He was placed on IR with a groin injury suffered in the first game, so he’s eligible to return in Week 7. The bye week doesn’t count, since he has to miss four games, not four weeks of action.
Jayden Reed (IR) — The wide receiver broke his collarbone in Week 2. He will be eligible to return from IR in Week 8, but realistically, he’s expected to miss more time and return in mid-November.
Out for season
T Travis Glover — The offensive lineman was placed on IR before the final roster cuts without a designation for return, so he’s ineligible to play this year for the Packers. He’s already under contract for next year.
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