Cobb Expected to Return vs. Titans

Back from an ankle injury, Green Bay Packers receiver Randall Cobb is expected to play on Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Veteran receiver Randall Cobb, who had emerged as a key weapon on third down early in the season, will be activated from injured reserve and play on Thursday against the Tennessee Titans.

NFL Network was the first to report the transaction, which was expected after Cobb crushed a workout before the Dallas game on Sunday and the Packers created space on the roster on Tuesday.

“Do I feel good enough to play on Thursday? This is a really tough league, and I’m obviously coming off a very significant injury,” Cobb said after being designated for return on Tuesday. “We got a seven-game season and I’m preparing myself to continue to push today and tomorrow. Obviously, it’s a little difficult because I haven’t practiced in four weeks and we have a short week and we just have walk-throughs this week, so we’ll see as we go day to day how it goes and leave that decision up to upstairs.”

Cobb, who turned 32 during training camp, is long removed from his prime seasons but he’s good enough to be a go-to player at times. Against the Giants in London in Week 5, he caught seven passes for 99 yards. A week later, he suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Jets. Fearing the worst, he was in tears as he was carted to the locker room.

At the time of the injury, Cobb was tied for the team lead with six third-down converting receptions. Even after missing four games, he trails only Allen Lazard (nine). Tennessee ranks No. 1 in the NFL in third-down defense.

“If we can get Cobby back, that’d be a big lift,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said.

On a short week, the Packers didn’t hold a true practice this week but did have individual drills on Wednesday. Would the lack of practice time complicate his return?

“For me? Nah, I’d try to go out there with my leg off if I could,” Cobb said. “I’d go out there with one leg and one arm if I could, but we’ll see. There’s a lot of decisions that have to be made, so we’ll see.”

The Packers are coming off a season-high 31-point performance for the Cowboys. If that was a sign of things to come following a sputtering start to the season, perhaps the Packers can get hot and make a push to the playoffs.

That will continue on Thursday against the formidable Titans.

“This is a production-based league, and what are we doing to produce? How are we gaining yards and how are we putting up points?” Cobb said. “We saw it done in different ways this past week, and we have to build on the success that we’ve had in that game and the success we’ve had throughout the season and continue to mesh that together in this offense and create something special.”

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