The Green Bay Packers’ Wednesday injury report looked identical to Tuesday’s report, which means another missed practice for running back Josh Jacobs. He played on Sunday and has only missed one game this season, but has missed both practices this week.
The Packers will have two more practices this week, and Jacobs would more than likely need to log at least a limited practice before the weekend in order to play against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
What Is the Latest On Josh Jacobs’ Knee Injury?
Jacobs has been dealing with this knee injury since Week 11 against the New York Giants. The Packers’ running back had just seven carries in that game and missed the following week against the Minnesota Vikings.
However, Jacobs returned in Week 12 against the Detroit Lions and had 17 carries for 83 yards and a catch out of the backfield, and had 20 carries with two receptions last week.
But in the Packers’ win over the Bears, Jacobs said his knee got stiff during the second half and started swelling.
He said he did get hit on it against the Lions, but there wasn’t a specific hit or anything against the Bears; it was just “casual” swelling and stiffness.
“The main thing, really, just trying to get the fluid out of there,” Jacobs said.
The Packers’ running back underwent an MRI on his knee on Monday night to make sure the injury had not gotten worse, and it came back clean.
Jacobs was the lone Packer not practicing on Wednesday, which puts his status for Sunday in jeopardy. However, he has been dealing with this injury for four weeks now, and he has played in three of those four games.
“I’m still taking it day-by-day right now. I feel a lot better today than I did yesterday,” Jacobs said. “(It’s the) same thing I’ve been battling with the last couple of weeks, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Jacobs said his “range of motion” is the biggest hurdle right now.
“When you get swelling and stuff like that in your joints, it just gets really stiff,” Jacobs said.
He said he came out of the Bears game pretty clean without the knee getting hit, but it “ballooned” up on him, and the Packers are letting him work through it.
Jacobs did say he plans to play on Sunday, but he also mentioned that he intends to play every Sunday. The team has a plan in place in case he is unable to go.
“Technically, I can go out there and practice, but I don’t want to go out there and then make it even more swollen, and then game day, it’s harder to actually play,” Jacobs said. “It’s just being smart right now.”
Jacobs was already feeling the effects of his knee injury when he broke off his 21-yard third-down run on the Packers’ game-winning drive against the Bears.
It’s an injury he’s been playing through, but the only way to improve it is through rest.
“I still feel it. It’s not something that’s just gone away. It’s still here. It’s just that I’m playing with it,” Jacobs added. “So even coming into the game, there’s still some swelling in there. But it’s just [about] playing through it. You know it’s going to be there, but you know – structurally – nothing is wrong, so you’re not looking at it from a sense of, ‘Okay, if I go out there, am I going to get hurt or make it worse?’
“It’s just, you got to play through the pain. That’s a reality of a lot of people in this league at this time of the year. It just is what it is.”
Jacobs did voice his confidence in running back Emanuel Wilson and his excitement to see MarShawn Lloyd back at practice. However, it sounds like the Packers’ running back will be out on the field if the medical staff allows it. And it’s good. PFSN’s impact metrics rank him 13th with a B- Grade.
Though a lot of that will depend on how the swelling in his knee progresses throughout the week. But, from the sounds of it, Jacobs doesn’t necessarily need to practice to play on Sunday.
