Friday Cheese Curds: Packers stars approach team records, NFL adjusts COVID protocols

Rodgers and Adams have some franchise milestones well within reach before the regular season wraps up.

If this season is indeed the last ride for Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams with the Green Bay Packers — something we at Acme Packing Company are becoming less and less certain of by the day — the two will have a chance to rewrite some team records before they head out the door.

Rodgers is within striking distance of the team’s touchdown pass record, while Adams could easily pass another two players on the all-time Packers receiving yardage leaderboard. With four games left, the former is all but assured, while Adams’ current pace — a career-high 100.3 yards per game — puts him on track to reach third place by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the Packers landed another star player on the reserve/COVID-19 list yesterday, as Kenny Clark has reportedly tested positive. However, Clark may be eligible to return in time for Sunday’s game in Baltimore thanks to some adjustments the NFL has made to its policy on the COVID test results that are required for a vaccinated player to return to action.

That policy has been changed in part due to the massive batch of positive tests that have run rampant through the NFL in recent days. More than one hundred players are currently on the COVID lists across the league, with some teams (looking at you, Browns and Rams) landing 20 players or more on that reserve list.

These policies will likely be in place for the remainder of the season given the spread of the Delta and Omicron variants, so expect to see masks in all press conferences moving forward and some other changes behind the scenes.

All that and more is here in today’s curds.

Aaron Rodgers’ road to the record has been paved in greatness | Packers.com
There are milestones aplenty for a few Packers players down the stretch, and one of those involves Rodgers. He is just three touchdown passes away from tying Brett Favre’s franchise record, and given the state of the Ravens’ defense, he could reach or break that mark on Sunday.

Milestones Are Mileposts on Packers WR Davante Adams’ Path to Legendary Status – Sports Illustrated
Meanwhile, Adams needs one score to tie Jordy Nelson for the most TD receptions from Aaron Rodgers and the most of any QB-WR duo in team history. He also could surpass Don Hutson and Sterling Sharpe and reach third place on the team’s all-time receiving yardage list by the end of the season.

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh says he’s planning on Lamar Jackson at QB against Green Bay Packers on Sunday | ESPN
Meanwhile, the Ravens still plan to have their starting quarterback on the field on Sunday, even if he is hobbled by an ankle sprain. Jackson has not practiced yet this week, though today’s status should be informative about his potential for suiting up on Sunday.

Packers TE Josiah Deguara ‘clicking on all cylinders’ in bigger role | Packers Wire
The Packers are finally starting to get the production that they hoped for when they drafted Deguara in the third round of the 2020 draft. It’s a welcome sight too, especially given Robert Tonyan’s torn ACL.

Ohio police ask for help finding thieves who stole entire bridge | The Guardian
I didn’t do it, but I can’t vouch for APC’s other Ohio-based contributors.