Jordan Love becomes latest Packer racing to be ready for Week 1 after surgery on thumb

USA Today

a day ago

The Green Bay Packers are walking a bit of a tightrope right now when it comes to injuries to key starters.
After Jordan Love practiced with his left thumb taped on Monday, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed on Tuesday that Love was set for surgery that morning to fix a ligament issue in the thumb. Love suffered the injury on the final snap the starting offense played in Green Bay's preseason opener versus the Jets, a play on which he was sacked.
The good news is that Gutekunst confirmed Love is only set to miss around a week of practice, and will be back in plenty of time for the start of the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 7.
The Packers face the defending NFC North champion Detroit Lions to open their campaign at Lambeau Field, in what is a potentially division-tilting matchup right off the bat.
With that in mind, it is clearly most important that Love is healthy for that game, but Green Bay's starting quarterback missing any time in the ramp up to the start of real football is not ideal either.
Love's is the latest in a line of injuries which have cost some of the Packers' most prominent players time during training camp, but are not expected to cause them to miss regular season action. It is an unusual trend which is equal parts concerning and relieving for Green Bay.
It began with Nate Hobbs, who had clean up surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee last weekend, in order to prevent the injury from worsening by playing through it during the season. The Packers are hopeful to have their $48 million corner back for Week 1.
Near the end of last week, Xavier McKinney suffered a calf injury which is expected to rule him out for much of, if not the remainder of training camp. Gutekunst said on Tuesday the team 'absolutely' believes he will be healthy in time to face Detroit in just under a month.
It was already known that Jayden Reed was dealing with a foot issue, but when he was spotted wearing a walking boot during the Jets game on Saturday, there was justifiable concern. However, reports indicate it is just a sprain for Reed, who is day to day.
On the positive side, the only Packers players who are essentially confirmed to be missing Week 1 at this point are Christian Watson, which was expected as he recovers from an ACL tear, and rookie offensive lineman John Williams, who would not have played a part in any case.
Gutekunst told the media on Tuesday that Watson will 'more than likely' begin the season on the PUP list, but admitted once the mandatory four games are up, the Packers could have a tough time holding him back, as the receiver will be 'chomping at the bit' to get back.
The GM reiterated Watson is 'ahead of the curve' in his recovery.
Williams, as well as fellow rookie Collin Oliver, have been unable to participate in camp so far due to back and hamstring injuries respectively, but Gutekunst gave more clarity on their situations on Tuesday.
He told the Green Bay media: 'With Oliver, hopefully we can get him out there before camp ends. Williams is probably gonna be a little longer than that."
While the Packers have dodged some bullets so far on the injury front, the team's preparations for the year ahead will certainly have been disrupted by the practice time lost for several of their more pivotal players.
Dontayvion Wicks has been nursing a calf since late July, causing him to miss a good chunk of camp. Israel Abanikanda, who was claimed recently, missed practice on Tuesday, leading the Packers to sign free agent running back Tyrion Davis-Price to help fill out the room.
When asked if he felt good about the overall health of the team despite the injuries, LaFleur said with a smile: 'No, I don't. Right now I don't. We're missing a lot of key players that are integral to our success as a football team."
He continued: 'It is what it is. It's an opportunity for some other guys, but we've definitely had some injuries strike up at some positions where it's made us pretty thin."
Romeo Doubs then appeared to hurt his back in Tuesday's practice after a collision with Evan Williams, but indicated to reporters in the locker room he was okay.
The Packers are set for joint practices with both the Colts and Seahawks before playing both teams in their final two preseason matchups but will be somewhat compromised entering those scrimmages and games.