The Green Bay Packers made a notable roster decision ahead of their Thursday night loss to the Atlanta Falcons, opting not to place wide receiver Jayden Reed on injured reserve. The move, or lack thereof, carries some implications for Reed’s short-term future and signals that the Packers are still gathering critical information about his injury.

Timing and IR stint for Reed

Because Green Bay did not place Reed on injured reserve before the Falcons game, Thursday’s contest will not count toward the four-game minimum absence required under IR rules. If the Packers eventually move Reed to injured reserve, that four-game clock will start with the next game after the transaction, not with the Atlanta matchup. That distinction creates two possible scenarios for the Packers and their second-year receiver.

The first scenario is the optimistic one. Reed’s injury may not be a month-long issue, and the Packers could believe he has a chance to return before a four-game window would expire. In that case, placing him on injured reserve would be unnecessary. Green Bay would simply hold him out on a week-to-week basis until he’s cleared, avoiding the IR designation entirely.

There’s also a more concerning path

The second scenario is less encouraging. If the injury is expected to sideline Reed for two to three months, or potentially the rest of the season, the timing of an IR placement becomes irrelevant. Whether the Packers place him on injured reserve this week or next week would make no practical difference because he would be out far longer than four games regardless. In that case, leaving him to stay on the active roster for three weeks would allow Reed to earn a credited season.

The fact that Green Bay chose not to place Reed on IR this week suggests the injury probably is not a straightforward four-week absence. It appears to be either shorter than that or significantly longer.

What happened and what’s known

Reed suffered a neck injury on the second play of the Week 2 game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. He caught a four-yard reception and was tackled, suffering helmet-to-helmet contact from Jets linebacker Demario Davis. Reed spent the night in a New York hospital before returning to Green Bay earlier this week.

Reed posted on social media that he is doing well, but neither the Packers nor Reed have detailed the full extent of the injury. Even though Adam Schafter reported it’s a back issue, head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed this week that it’s actually a neck injury. That distinction raises the severity concern, and it appears the Packers are still in the discovery phase of the process. Once the team has more details, it will make a final determination on Reed’s roster status.

Zach Bako-Bewele hasn’t been placed on IR either

Reed is not the only player the Packers curiously left off injured reserve for now. Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele, who is out for the season with a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, also has not been placed on IR. The Packers have not yet needed his roster spot. Once they do, the team will inevitably move Bako-Bewele to injured reserve, but there has been no urgency to do so. That same roster-spot calculus could apply to Reed as well, depending on what the Packers learn about the timeline for his return.