Big Packers Injury Updates for Jordan Love, Jaire Alexander

Will Packers QB Jordan Love be back in the lineup against the Vikings? “Can he run around? Can he make those plays? We don’t want to put him out there if he can’t.”

The Packers get ready to practice on Friday. / Bill Huber/Packers On SI

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love went out for the start of Friday’s practice, the final one of the week before Sunday’s home game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Love almost certainly will be listed as limited participation at practice and questionable to face the Vikings when coach Matt LaFleur releases the injury report on Friday afternoon.

Love’s participation was expected. What was not expected was the absence of premier cornerback Jaire Alexander. He rode a stationary bike while the other players warmed up and did not go out for the start of practice.

“Yeah, absolutely,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Thursday when asked if he was concerned ahead of a matchup against Vikings star Justin Jefferson. “Any time your best players are limited and not full go, there’s a concern.”

Early signs this week were that Love seemed cleared for takeoff after a two-game absence, but his lack of participation in a drill early in Thursday’s practice might have added to the mystery.

“We’re kind of preparing for both scenarios,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said on Thursday. “I think you have your Malik (Willis) gameplan and you have your Jordan gameplan. There’s a lot of similarities but then there’s some differences, too. So, it’s kind of preparing for both and seeing what happens on a day-to-day basis.”

Friday marks exactly three weeks since Love suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee during the season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

On Fridays, reporters only get to watch the players go through a 15-minute warm-up routine inside the Don Hutson Center. Love participated in all phases, including hopping on the injured knee and some running, then joined his teammates in jogging onto the Clarke Hinkle Practice Field for practice.

No doubt the Packers want Love to play against the Vikings.

The Packers are 2-1 and the Vikings are 3-0. They can’t afford to slip two games behind Minnesota in the NFC North. And while it’s obviously very early in the season, a loss would send the Packers to 0-2 in conference games – a key playoff tiebreaker.

On the other hand, the Vikings are No. 1 in the NFL in sacks, with five sacks against the Giants in Week 1, six sacks against the 49ers in Week 2 and five sacks against the Texans last week.

Will Love have the necessary mobility to keep himself out of harm’s way?

“There’s a lot of things you got to take into consideration with that,” Stenavich said. “It’s whether you can get the ball out of your hands faster. Continue to run the ball well; I think that’s going to be a big thing and kind of take the pressure off him.

“But there’s going to be situations where we’re going to have to throw the ball. We’re just evaluating the process of his injury and how he looks at practice and stuff to see can he do those things when he’s out there. That’s the biggest thing: Can he run around? Can he make those plays? We don’t want to put him out there if he can’t. So, that’s kind of what we’re looking at.”

On Wednesday, Love sounded optimistic that he’d return this week. At least while reporters were present, he took his regular allotment of reps, including testing the knee with bootleg passes.

That came on the heels of a successful rehab workout before the game in Tennessee.

“I think every day I was pushing myself a little bit harder,” Love said. “At the end of the day, it’s all feel. Feeling my body, feeling if I’m pushing too much and just listen to my body talking to me. Even the workout pregame Sunday, I felt I was moving around pretty well, and my body responded well to it.”

On Wednesday and Thursday, the only player who did not practice wase rookie offensive lineman Jordan Morgan, who almost certainly will miss a second consecutive game with a shoulder injury after not going out for the start of Friday’s practice.

Morgan, Alexander cornerback Carrington Valentine (ankle) were the three players who stayed inside the Hutson Center. The potential of going without Alexander and Valentine could be double trouble in keeping up with the Vikings, who feature quarterback Sam Darnold, who is second in passer rating, and the indomitable Jefferson.

While wearing a no-contact red jersey, tight end Tucker Kraft moved from limited participation to full participation on Thursday. He was in red again on Friday.

For the Vikings, receiver Jordan Addison is ready to return after missing the last two games with an ankle injury.

“I’m feeling good to jump back in,” Addison told reporters in Minneapolis. “We hot right now. Sam [Darnold] looking good, the O-line is playing good, we got a good run game going. I feel like having me out there is just going to take it up a notch.”

Linebacker Ivan Pace, who recorded 102 tackles as an undrafted rookie last year, missed the last two days. Bullard, who is an underrated standout on the Vikings’ strong run defense, didn’t practice on Thursday, either.

This story will be updated after both teams release their injury reports on Friday afternoon. For now, here are the injury reports from Thursday.

Packers Injury Report

Did not participate:  G/T Jordan Morgan (shoulder).

Limited participation: CB Jaire Alexander (quad), DT Kenny Clark (toe), QB Jordan Love (knee), TE Luke Musgrave (quad), WR Jayden Reed (calf/quad), CB Carrington Valentine (ankle), DT Devonte Wyatt (shoulder).

Full: LG Elgton Jenkins (rest), TE Tucker Kraft (shoulder), C Josh Myers (shoulder), RT Zach Tom (quad).

Vikings Injury Report

Did not participate: DL Jonathan Bullard (knee), LT Christian Darrisaw (illness), LB Ivan Pace (ankle), S Jay Ward (knee).

Limited: WR Jordan Addison (ankle), C Garrett Bradbury (ankle), LB Kamu Grugier-Hill (knee), TE Josh Oliver (wrist).

Full: QB Sam Darnold (knee), OLB Dallas Turner (knee).

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During a conversation about playing through injury yesterday, standout #Packers tight end Tucker Kraft said he was "just trying to channel my inner (Mark) Bavaro."

Mark Bavaro? ⬇️https://t.co/MBFVMq363D

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 27, 2024

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