Valdes-Scantling Placed on Injured Reserve
Update: The Packers placed receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on injured reserve on Saturday afternoon. Fellow receiver Equanimeous St. Brown will be elevated from the practice squad for Sunday's game.
For the record, St. Brown is a COVID-19 elevation to take the place of defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster. Valdes-Scantling, meanwhile, will miss at least games against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Chicago.
GREEN BAY, Wis. – On Tuesday, the Green Bay Packers protected four of their practice-squad players, meaning they couldn’t be poached by another team this week.
Three were familiar names: quarterback Kurt Benkert, kicker J.J. Molson and long snapper Steven Wirtel. The fourth was receiver Equanimeous St. Brown.
And now we perhaps know why. The Packers are expected to place receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on injured reserve, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Friday. Valdes-Scantling missed the end of last week’s game at San Francisco with an injured hamstring. With the Packers taking their usual long-term view of the season, they will take a conservative approach with their big-play receiver.
On Friday, LaFleur ruled out Valdes-Scantling for Sunday’s home game against Pittsburgh. On Thursday, when asked if Valdes-Scantling’s injury was of long-term concern, LaFleur said, “No, I don’t think it’s going to be too long.”
If you’re into cryptic tweets, the news might have been news to Valdes-Scantling.
And it was news to a source close to the receiver, who said he “didn’t know anything” about injured reserve.
Assuming the report is correct, the team would have to make a move before Sunday’s game so it would count as one of his three games on the sideline.
In three games, Valdes-Scantling has caught 6-of-16 targets for 76 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown came last week at San Francisco, six days after quarterback Aaron Rodgers lamented three missed opportunities to connect with him for touchdowns vs. Detroit.
This is the final season under contract for Valdes-Scantling, who had put himself in position for a big payday next offseason. From 2018 through 2020, he led the NFL with his 17.8-yard average and was second in 40-yard touchdowns (seven) and 40-yard catches (15). He had one 40-yard catch to start this season – a 47-yarder last week. That’s his only catch on a league-high eight deep targets, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I don’t really care” about the contract, he said late in training camp. “I want to win a Super Bowl. So, that’s kind of the focus. All that other stuff will take care of itself when it’s supposed to. But that’s, eight, nine months from now. To even be having those conversations, who knows what’ll happen by then. I’m not a fortune teller or future speaker. So, I just focus on today.”
Earlier Friday, NFL Network reported outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith had back surgery earlier this week.
