The Green Bay Packers won’t have injured All-Pros David Bakhtiari or Jaire Alexander for at least another week, Matt LaFleur announced Tuesday. LaFleur stated in his press conference that doesn’t anticipate Bakhtiari or Alexander playing on Christmas Day due to the shortened week. Green Bay is currently scheduled to face the Cleveland Browns on Saturday.
“I wouldn’t anticipate those guys to play this week,” LaFleur said.
Outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith also falls into the same category. Smith is still recovering from a back injury and is not expected to practice this week.
“I would not anticipate him out there,” LaFleur added.
Green Bay will go through a lighter practice load leading up to Saturday’s game. Bakhtiari and Alexander are much closer than Smith to getting back on the field sometime soon. Both returned to practice recently, which was a huge step toward getting them back.
Bakhtiari still hasn’t played this season, and the team estimated he would have missed Tuesday’s practice after practicing all of last week. Alexander has been on injured reserve since suffering a shoulder injury in Week 4.
Luckily, the Packers aren’t in dire need of help after clinching their third straight NFC North after a one-point victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. However, they would like to get some of their injured starters back before the playoffs and also secure the top seed in the NFC in the process.
After the Browns, Green Bay will face the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions to finish out the regular season. It is possible that the Packers could give Bakhtiari and Alexander playing time in back-to-back weeks heading into the playoffs. The jury is still out on Smith, who was injured most of training camp and only played a handful of snaps in Week 1 before having surgery.
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