Packers-Eagles Inactives: Za’Darius Smith, Ervin Are Active

Receiver Tavon Austin, who was signed this week, is among Green Bay's five inactives.

Bill Huber | Dec 6, 2020

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Tavon Austin’s Green Bay Packers debut will have to wait at least another week.

Austin, the fleet-footed receiver/returner the Packers added this week, is among five inactives for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

What’s notable for the Packers is who is active. Outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith (ankle) and running back/returner Tyler Ervin (ribs), who were questionable on Friday’s injury report, are active. Ervin missed the last two games while Smith was added to the injury report this week.

“I’m not overly concerned about it but it’s something (he’s) been battling through all season,” coach Matt LaFleur said after Friday’s practice but before listing Smith as questionable. “Some days are better than others. We held him out today and we’ll see where he’s at on Sunday.”

Smith is fifth in the NFL in sacks (nine), quarterback hits (20) and forced fumbles (three).

Also active is inside linebacker Krys Barnes. He had missed the previous three games while on the COVID-19 list but was questionable with a calf.

Green Bay’s inactives are the newly added duo of Austin and defensive lineman Anthony Rush, rookie quarterback Jordan Love and rookie outside linebacker Jonathan Garvin, and cornerback Josh Jackson. Jackson suffered a concussion against Indianapolis and will miss a second consecutive game. However, Jackson was not given an injury designation on Friday’s injury report.

Philadelphia’s inactives list is void of impact players. Critically, cornerback Darius Slay, who was questionable with an injured hamstring, will be in the lineup.

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Published Dec 6, 2020

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.