Matt LaFleur addresses Packers’ injuries going into the bye week

It sounds like RB Aaron Jones and WR Romeo Doubs will play against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Green Bay Packers don’t have a game to look forward to this weekend, but head coach Matt LaFleur still fielded questions from the press in his weekly meeting with the media. Aside from the Aaron Rodgers questions, where LaFleur emphatically said that he wants Rodgers to return to the team in 2023, the biggest pieces of news came on the injury front.

The Packers’ defense seemed to avoid a major injury against the Chicago Bears, but there are still a couple of question marks on the offensive side of the ball.

First is left tackle David Bakhtiari, who had an emergency appendectomy on Friday and was unable to play against the Bears at all. LaFleur stated that Bakhtiari has no recovery timeline but that “it could be a while” before he returns to the field. While each player goes through their own unique recovery process, it’s worth keeping in mind that Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick played an NFL game eight days after having an appendectomy just a few weeks ago. Hopefully, the bye week will be good for Bakhtiari.

Running back Aaron Jones, who has been battling through a couple of lower body injuries this season, left the game on Sunday with a shin injury. There seems to be no major concern there, as LaFleur said, “I think he’ll be in good shape,” in reference to Jones’ status after the bye.

It was a surprise on Sunday when rookie receiver Romeo Doubs (ankle) didn’t suit up for the game this weekend. The receiver was officially listed as questionable on Friday, which typically means a player is going to play. Doubs, who has been out since the first offensive play against the Detroit Lions on November 6th, was expected to play a limited role in the offense this week, per LaFleur. The head coach stated, “I would think we’re going to get Rome back,” when asked about the rookie’s post-bye status.

On the relative scale of the injuries this team has faced in 2022, we’ll go ahead and chalk these updates as good news for the Packers. Hopefully, all three will be able to play against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football when Green Bay is back in action two weeks from now.