No Packers Practice Squad Elevations vs. Giants: What That Means

Sometimes, no news is indeed news. With the Green Bay Packers facing the New York Giants in London on Sunday, they are sticking with their 53-man roster.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers did not announce any elevations from their practice squad for Sunday’s game in London against the New York Giants, a first this season.

The Packers listed only three players as questionable on their injury report. One of them was rookie defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt, who has a quad injury and didn’t practice on Thursday in Green Bay or Friday in London.

With the lack of practice reps this week, it would be at least a minor surprise if Wyatt plays against the Giants.

Assuming Wyatt is inactive, Green Bay’s remaining defensive linemen would be veteran starters Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed, second-year player T.J. Slaton and rookie seventh-round pick Jonathan Ford. The Packers could have bolstered that group by elevating either Jack Heflin or Chris Slayton.

The play of the defensive line will be in the spotlight on Sunday. That’s because run defense figures to be the priority with a matchup against NFL rushing leader Saquon Barkley. Given Barkley’s production and the Giants’ injury concerns at receiver and quarterback, they figure to run the ball early and often against Green Bay.

Wyatt has played 24 snaps in four games while Ford has been a healthy inactive. Ford almost certainly will make his NFL debut on Sunday.

Heflin made the 53-man roster last year as an undrafted free agent. He played in four games as a rookie. He had a superb preseason with 10 tackles in three games but lost out to Ford, the drafted player.

“I think when Jonathan was in there, he did a nice job,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said after settling on his 53-man roster. “Big upside with Jonathan. We’re excited about developing him, along with the other guys. We’re excited about our defensive line group. I think it’s very deep. If we have to dig into that depth this year, we feel pretty good about it.”

Slayton was a seventh-round draft pick by the Giants in 2019. He has not played in a regular-season game in his career. Making his long-awaited debut against the team that drafted him would have been a nice story line.

Also Not Elevated

Safety Micah Abernathy: The Packers listed starting safety Adrian Amos (concussion) and rookie Tariq Carpenter (abdomen) as questionable, though Amos practiced on Thursday and Friday and seemed on track to get through the concussion protocol by kickoff. Amos’ availability for Sunday seemingly is solidified with Abernathy not being elevated.

Assuming Amos and Darnell Savage start as usual and if Carpenter is out, the Packers would have Rudy Ford and Dallin Leavitt in reserve.

Kicker Ramiz Ahmed: Ahmed had been wearing No. 45 but wore No. 17 at practice this week. A kicker has to be somewhere between No. 1 and No. 19 to kick in a game. Mason Crosby has made all his field goals and extra points to start the season but his kickoffs have not been up to par. Of 33 kickoffs with at least eight kickoffs, his average distance ranks 25th and his hangtime ranks 33rd.