Packers-Panthers Thursday Injury Report: Luke Musgrave’s Comeback Begins

Tight end Luke Musgrave’s 21-day practice window was opened on Thursday following the kidney injury sustained vs. the Chargers on Nov. 19.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave, who suffered a lacerated kidney just about one month ago, was designated to return from injured reserve on Thursday.

That means Musgrave’s 21-day practice window has been opened and he will not count on the 53-man roster during that period. Normally, a player has those three weeks to return to the roster or go back on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

However, with the Packers (6-8) having lost two in a row to drop out of the seven-team playoff race, it’s possible the season will end before those 21 days expire.

“Obviously, I’d love to see him out there [in a game] and cautiously optimistic at some point. I just don’t know when that point will be,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

It will be a slow return for Musgrave given the significance of his injury and the impact it had on his fitness. He did not actually go through drills with his fellow tight ends on Thursday.

“Yeah, it was great,” LaFleur said. “I talked to him just a few minutes ago and he was running and catching some balls with the trainers. He’s making progress. I’ll just put it at that.”

A second-round pick in this year’s draft, Musgrave in 10 games caught 33 passes for 341 yards and one touchdown.

In Packers history, Bubba Franks holds the rookie tight end records with 34 receptions for 363 yards. Musgrave would have obliterated those marks had he not been injured against the Chargers on Nov. 19.

Based on his weekly production, he was on pace to finish the season with 56 receptions for 617 yards. Among all Packers tight ends in franchise history, those marks would have ranked third (Jermichael Finley, 61; Richard Rodgers, 58) and 10th, respectively.

Coming off two of his best games from an impact-plays perspective with 51 yards vs. the Rams and 64 yards vs. the Steelers, it would have been interesting to see just how high Musgrave could have pushed his numbers.

Tight ends coach John Dunn said Musgrave stayed involved during his absence.

“Luke, like all these guys, they love football. I mean love football,” he said this week. “For him, he wouldn’t have it this way but you get to step back – you’re forced to step back – and maybe look at the game a little differently since you’re not actually playing. I do think for him, being able to see it and watch it and study, seeing it through a different lens. He’s a great kid.”

It might be easy for a player to tune out the weekly game-plan process when he’s not going to play in the game. That wasn’t the case for Musgrave, Dunn said.

“It goes back to the character,” he said. “You’ve got to stay involved in this game mentally as much as physically, because there’s a lot of moving pieces that go into it. Whenever you relax mentally, sometimes that part takes a little bit to get back into. Like, ‘Oh, OK, I forgot about that little tidbit.’ You’ve got to stay involved.”

“The men in that room are the right men because of who they are,” Dunn continued, pounding on the podium repeatedly to drive home his point. “What they do physically, it’s no surprise to me because how they attack it with their mind.”

Along with Musgrave, five other players did not practice. Receiver Christian Watson (hamstring), receiver Jayden Reed (toe), safety Darnell Savage (shoulder) and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell were out for a second consecutive day. Offensive tackle Caleb Jones was added to the injury report and didn’t practice, either.

“I think Christian’s made good progress,” LaFleur said. “I know he didn’t run today, but he’s been running. We’ll see kind of where it goes.”

Running back AJ Dillon (thumb) and cornerback Jaire Alexander (shoulder), who were inactive for Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay, practiced again. Left guard Elgton Jenkins (shoulder), who did not practice on Wednesday, was back to work on Thursday.

For Carolina, its injury report was unchanged other than right tackle Taylor Moton returning to practice after sitting out on Wednesday.

Packers Thursday Injury Report

DNP: Christian Watson (hamstring), WR Jayden Reed (toe), S Darnell Savage (shoulder), LB De’Vondre Campbell (neck), OT Caleb Jones (foot/illness), TE Luke Musgrave (kidney)

Limited: LB Quay Walker (shoulder), WR Dontayvion Wicks (ankle), CB Jaire Alexander (shoulder), RB AJ Dillon (thumb), RB Emanuel Wilson (shoulder), RB Aaron Jones (knee), S Jonathan Owens (knee), OLB Kingsley Enagbare (toe), LG Elgton Jenkins (shoulder), OT Luke Tenuta (ankle), DT TJ Slaton (knee).

Panthers Thursday Injury Report

DNP: OLB Brian Burns (illness), OLB Yetur Gross-Matos (illness), OLB Marquis Haynes (back/illness), CB Troy Hill (rest).

Limited: LB Claudin Cherelus (knee), S Sam Franklin (quad), RT Taylor Moton (knee/rest), OT David Sharpe (illness). WR Adam Thielen (rest), TE Ian Thomas (ankle), TE Tommy Tremble (illness), S Xavier Woods (illness).

Full: TE Stephen Sullivan (shoulder).

Packers’ Pass-Catcher Power Rankings