Tag: Green Bay Packers

Packers down 4 starters on defense on MNF vs. Saints

The Packers will be without 4 starters on defense against the Saints. Here are the inactives for the Packers and Saints in Week 16.

The Green Bay Packers will be without four preferred starters on defense when they take on the New Orleans Saints on “Monday Night Football” in Week 16.

Linebacker Quay Walker, cornerback Jaire Alexander, rookie defensive back Javon Bullard and rookie safety Evan Williams are all inactive against the Saints. Walker and Bullard were ruled out on Saturday’s final injury report with ankle injuries, while Alexander still isn’t physically ready to return from a knee injury first suffered in late October. Williams suffered a quad injury late in the week and was listed as questionable on the final injury report.

In primetime, a short-handed Saints offense will take on a suddenly short-handed Packers defense.

Isaiah McDuffie, Edgerrin Cooper and Eric Wilson should handle the majority of snaps at linebacker, with Ty’Ron Hopper available as a backup option. In the defensive backfield, expect Keisean Nixon to start in the slot with Carrington Valentine and Eric Stokes outside, and Zayne Anderson could get a first career start next to Xavier McKinney at safety.

Receiver Malik Heath and offensive lineman Jacob Monk are both healthy scratches for the second straight week.

The Saints will be without quarterback Derek Carr, running back Alvin Kamara, receiver Chris Olave, receiver Rashid Shaheed and tight end Taysom Hill. Former Packer Marquez Valdes-Scantling is also inactive.

Packers inactives for Week 16

LB Quay Walker
WR Malik Heath
S Javon Bullard
CB Jaire Alexander
S Evan Williams
OL Jacob Monk

Saints inactives for Week 16

QB Derek Carr
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
RB Alvin Kamara
DT Nathan Shepherd
DT Khristian Boyd

Saints announce inactive players for Week 16 vs. Green Bay Packers

The New Orleans Saints have shared a couple of surprises in their inactive players for their Week 16 matchup against the Green Bay Packers:

The New Orleans Saints are preparing for their Week 16 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, which will feature even more injuries than once expected.

The Packers will be without a couple of key defensive players, including a once questionable Jaire Alexander who is dealing with a knee injury that has been bugging him since October. He was once expected to return this week, but it looks like he will need more time.

For the Saints, the biggest question mark was Marquez Valdes-Scantling due to a chest/illness injury designation. The team will indeed be without the big-play threat out wide, further weakening the offense. And veteran defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd was a surprise inactive during an eye injury.

New Orleans Saints inactive players

  • QB Derek Carr
  • RB Alvin Kamara
  • WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
  • DT Nathan Shepherd
  • DT Khristian Boyd

Green Bay Packers inactive players

  • S Javon Bullard
  • S Evan Williams
  • LB Quay Walker
  • CB Jaire Alexander
  • WR Malik Heath
  • OL Jacob Monk

Packers CB Jaire Alexander still not ready to return, will be inactive vs. Saints

The Green Bay Packers will be without cornerback Jaire Alexander for the fifth straight game and sixth game out of the last seven when he’s made inactive on Monday night against the New Orleans Saints

The Green Bay Packers will be without cornerback Jaire Alexander for the fifth straight game and sixth game out of the last seven when he’s made inactive on Monday night against the New Orleans Saints, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Alexander practiced fully on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week but still doesn’t feel like “himself,” per Pelissero. The Packers listed Alexander as questionable this week.

The two-time All-Pro first injured a ligament in his knee on Oct. 27 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He attempted to return coming out of the bye on Nov. 17 but suffered an aggravation of the injury after 10 snaps in Chicago and has missed the last four games.

Without Alexander and rookie defensive back Javon Bullard, who is out with an ankle injury, the Packers will likely play Keisean Nixon in the slot and Carrington Valentine and Eric Stokes on the perimeter against the Saints on Monday night.

Alexander, who turns 28 next February, has played in only seven games this season.

When Monday night ends, another week of guessing on Alexander’s status awaits.

The Packers face the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 29. Can Alexander get through another week of practice and feel physically able to return against Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison next week?

The postseason is quickly approaching, and the Packers are one win away from clinching. It’d be understandable to wonder if Alexander will return at all during the regular season.

Packers elevate S Omar Brown from practice squad for Week 16 vs. Saints

The Packers elevated S Omar Brown from the practice squad for Week 16 against the Saints.

The Green Bay Packers elevated safety Omar Brown from the practice squad to the gameday roster for Week 16. The move was announced Monday, making Brown available for Matt LaFleur and the Packers for Monday night’s showdown with the New Orleans Saints.

The Packers don’t have rookie Javon Bullard available due to an ankle injury, and rookie safety Evan Williams was a late add to the injury report on Saturday with a quad injury. Brown, a rookie out of Nebraska, will provide necessary depth at safety.

The Packers originally signed Brown to the practice squad on Aug. 29. He’s been in Green Bay since the start of the regular season but will have a chance to make his NFL debut on Monday.

Brown, who made a pre-draft visit to Green Bay, first signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent. He played in 52 games during his collegiate career and was an All-Big Ten pick in 2023.

All teams are allowed to elevate up to two players from the practice squad each week. An individual player can only be elevated from the practice squad three times per season, so Brown has two elevations left. On Tuesday, Brown will revert to the practice squad.

The Packers elevated at least one player during each of the first nine weeks but have only elevated two players since the bye.

Elevations by week

Week 1: RB Ellis Merriweather
Week 2: QB Sean Clifford
Week 3: QB Sean Clifford, CB Robert Rochell
Week 4: CB Robert Rochell, CB Kamal Hadden
Week 5: FB Andrew Beck
Week 6: FB Andrew Beck
Week 7: FB Andrew Beck
Week 8: CB Robert Rochell
Week 9: CB Kamal Hadden
Week 14: CB Kalen King
Week 16: S Omar Brown

Monday Night Football schedule: Is there a ‘ManningCast’ tonight?

There’s no ‘ManningCast’ for the Saints-Packers game tonight, but Peyton and Eli will return for a playoff game in January.

Peyton and Eli Manning have returned for a fourth season of the ManningCast with the two former quarterbacks set to provide commentary for 11 weeks of Monday Night Football games this fall.

The brothers released a funny 10-minute musical to promote the upcoming ManningCast season in September. The 2024 slate is now on a break as the regular season schedule has wrapped up for the ManningCast.

The program will return in the first round of the playoffs for a Wild Card game that will be televised on ESPN2, which is available to stream on fuboTV.

Peyton and Eli will welcome new guests on the program each week there is a ManningCast, and Bill Belichick will be featured on every episode this fall.

Check out the full schedule below.

ManningCast 2024 Schedule

NFL Week Date Game TV
1 Sept. 9 Jets @ 49ers ESPN2, ESPN+
2 Sept. 16 Falcons @ Eagles ESPN2
5 Oct. 7 Saints @ Chiefs ESPN2
6 Oct. 14 Bills @ Jets ESPN2
7 Oct. 21 Ravens @ Bucs ESPN2, ESPN+
8 Oct. 28 Giants @ Steelers ESPN2, ESPN+
9 Nov. 4 Bucs @ Chiefs ESPN2
11 Nov. 18 Texans @ Cowboys ESPN2
12 Nov. 25 Ravens @ Chargers ESPN2
14 Dec. 9 Bengals @ Cowboys ESPN2, ESPN+
Wild Card Jan. 13 TBD ESPN2, ESPN+

The ManningCast is televised on ESPN2. The primary MNF broadcast will continue to feature Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters on ESPN.

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How Spencer Rattler and the Saints used a walk-in freezer to practice for frigid Lambeau Field

Cold weather chess, not checkers.

You can simulate rain in practice if you’re going to play in the wet stuff, but as for preparing the cold? That’s a lot harder for NFL teams if you don’t live in a very cold place.

But the New Orleans Saints are playing cold-weather chess, not checkers, with starting QB Spencer Rattler and the other quarterbacks.

Per ESPN: “Quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko took Rattler and the rest of the Saints’ quarterbacks into the walk-in freezer in the team’s cafeteria Saturday to run through plays. …  Janocko joked that he got the idea after watching “Cool Runnings.” In the movie, a character sits in an ice cream truck to prepare for the conditions he’ll face as an Olympic bobsledder.”

We’ll see if it pays off, but that’s a smart way to go about it.

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Vikings Week 16 matchup with Packers gets a schedule flex

The NFL announced on Monday that the Vikings’ Week 16 matchup with the Packers will get the flex treatment by the schedule makers. 

We are through Week 16 of the NFL season for the Vikings, and even though it is a Monday, all eyes are already shifting to their Week 17 matchup. It will be one of two matchups within the division for the Vikings as they look to win out their schedule, head into the playoffs on a nine-game winning streak, and potentially earn the NFC North title.

The NFL announced on Monday that the Vikings’ Week 17 matchup with the Packers will get the flex treatment by the schedule makers.

The game will be trading places with the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. The Vikings and Packers will replace the Cowboys and Eagles in the 4:25 p.m. EST/3:25 p.m. CST slot, it will also be dubbed Fox’s America’s Game of the Week giving it a wider range audience.

With a win, the Vikings will be lined up with a pivotal matchup against the Detroit Lions in Week 18, a matchup that is likely to earn the Sunday Night Football slot.

Packers vs. Vikings in Week 17 gets flexed to late afternoon timeslot

The NFL flexed the important NFC North battle from noon to 3:25 p.m. CT on Sunday, Dec. 29. 

The showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings in Week 17 will be viewed by a larger television audience. On Monday, the NFL flexed the important NFC North battle from noon to 3:25 p.m. CT on Sunday, Dec. 29.

Packers-Vikings will be “America’s Game of the Week” on FOX for Week 17, meaning Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady will be on the call from the booth at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The game was originally scheduled for noon. Given the playoff implications, the NFL moved it into the top FOX billing and sent the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys from 3:25 p.m. CT to noon.

A nationwide audience can be expected. There is only one conflicting game during the late afternoon timeslot on Sunday, and it’s a CBS game between the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns with a 3:05 p.m. kickoff.

The Vikings are 13-2 and have already clinched a playoff berth. The Packers are 10-4 going into Monday night and can clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Saints. While the Packers are eliminated from contention in the NFC North, the winner next Sunday may end up being the No. 5 seed in NFC playoffs. The Vikings are still in the hunt for the division title.

Last year, the Packers beat the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on New Year’s Eve. Minnesota won in Green Bay in Week 4, 31-29.

Eagles vs. Cowboys game flexed in Week 17

Eagles vs. Cowboys flexed to 1PM slot in Week 17, while the Packers vs. Vikings has been moved to the 4:25PM slot

The league announced that the Eagles will host the Cowboys on Sunday, with a chance to clinch the NFC East. With Dallas out of playoff contention, the game has been flexed to the 1:00 PM slot.

With two teams in the NFC North (Vikings and Lions) having 12-3 records and the Packers having a 10-4 record entering Monday night, the NFL chose a stacked division race over one of the league’s top rivalries.

The Eagles (12-3) will look to sweep the season series with the Cowboys (7-8) for the first time since 2011 and wrap up the division title. The Cowboys have been eliminated from playoff contention but want to play spoiler. Dallas has won four of its last five games and knocked the Buccaneers out of first place in the NFC South.

Cooper Rush will start as the Cowboys’ quarterback. He has a 9-2 career record as a starter in the NFL against teams other than the Eagles but is 0-2 against Philadelphia.

Packers activating TE Luke Musgrave from IR ahead of MNF vs. Saints

The Packers are getting back TE Luke Musgrave for Monday night against the Saints. He has missed the last 10 games with an ankle injury.

The Green Bay Packers will have tight end Luke Musgrave available for Monday night’s showdown with the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Musgrave is being activated off injured reserve in time to play to face the Saints in primetime on “Monday Night Football” from Lambeau Field.

The second-year tight end needed surgery to correct an ankle injury suffered in Week 4 and has missed the last 10 games while on injured reserve.

Musgrave’s practice window was opened last week, and he practiced in a limited capacity each of the last two weeks. The Packers listed him as questionable on the final injury report of Week 16.

During the first four weeks, Musgrave caught only five passes for 22 yards while serving as a backup behind starter Tucker Kraft. He played 17 snaps in Week 1, 31 snaps in Week 2, 35 snaps in Week 3 and 25 snaps in Week 4. Pelissero reports the Packers will “ease” Musgrave back into the lineup.

Green Bay plays three more games before the start of the postseason, giving Musgrave a ramp up period.

When fully healthy and integrated back into the offense, Musgrave could provide a dynamic deep threat from the tight end position. He caught a touchdown pass in the Packers’ win over the Dallas Cowboys in the postseason last year.