Packers’ Eric Stokes, Darnell Savage land on injured reserve, hope to return this season
GREEN BAY — Eric Stokes is trying not to feel sorry for himself. He said he was trying to focus on what he called “the bigger picture” on Wednesday.
The third-year cornerback for the Green Bay Packers and 2021 first-round draft pick, however, has a lot to process after missing almost a year due to a serious foot injury, making his game debut last Sunday against Denver, and then suffering a hamstring injury that has forced him back onto injured reserve.
Dontayvion Wicks of the Packers concentrates on getting more pass-catching opportunities after a beautiful ball.
In the Broncos’ 19-17 defeat, Stokes only saw four plays before his left hamstring gave out while covering punts. He believes the issue has nothing to do with the injury he sustained in November at Detroit, but it has put him back where he started: recovering from an ailment and keeping an eye on things from the sidelines.
“In Denver, I was down the whole time. But the moment we landed back here, it was time to man up and just go ahead and face reality,” Stokes said Wednesday. “In Denver, I was like saying, ‘Why me? Why all this?’ and all that stuff. But the moment I got back here, it was time to move forward. It’s time to focus on going ahead and getting back to the grind.”
Meanwhile, safety Darnell Savage, who suffered a calf injury at Las Vegas on Oct. 9 and aggravated the injury against the Broncos, joined Stokes on injured reserve, meaning both will miss at least the next four games, including this Sunday’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field.
The Packers’ offense was weary of scoring “donuts” in the first half.
Coach Matt LaFleur of the Packers stated of Savage, “Hopefully we’ll get him back here in a couple weeks.”
Practice-squad cornerback Corey Ballentine, who has played in three games this season, was signed by the Packers to replace Stokes on the 53-man roster.
The team also signed cornerback Robert Rochell to the active roster from the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad and added cornerback Zyon Gilbert to the practice squad. Rochell, a 2021 fourth-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams, played in 28 games with five starts for the Rams the past two seasons.
With Savage sidelined, the Packers will turn to Jonathan Owens, an unrestricted free agent signee during the offseason who started 17 games for the Houston Texans last year. Owens took over for Savage after he went out against Denver.
Health watch
Running back Aaron Jones (hamstring), tight end Luke Musgrave (ankle) and center Josh Myers (ankle) did not practice Wednesday. Musgrave and Myers were injured against the Broncos; Jones has been dealing with the hamstring injury since it first happened in the season opener at Chicago.
Asked if Jones had a setback after playing 23 snaps against the Broncos, LaFleur replied: “He’s just a little bit sore, as to be expected. Hopefully we can ramp him up and get him more snaps out there.”
LaFleur said Musgrave is out solely because of the ankle injury and he is not in the concussion protocol after taking a wicked helmet-to-helmet hit from Broncos safety Kareem Jackson. Myers briefly left Sunday’s game with the ankle injury but came back and finished.
De’Vondre Campbell, a seasoned inside linebacker who hasn’t played since spraining his ankle on the first defensive play against New Orleans on September 24, worked out in the interim.
“Very happy to see him again,” LaFleur remarked. “He has been performing at a high level and is a leader on this football team.”
Jaire Alexander, the cornerback for the Packers, has missed three of the last four games due to a back issue. He did not play against the Broncos, but he did participate in limited practice on Wednesday.
“There’s always concern with any injury, let alone a back injury,” LaFleur stated. However, we’re hoping that he’s improving and will be available this Sunday.
Watson details ‘scary’ moment
Wide receiver Christian Watson, who suffered what he thought might be a major knee injury on the play before quarterback Jordan Love’s defeat-clinching interception against the Broncos, was a full participant in practice Wednesday.
But, he admitted, he was worried that he’d done major damage to his knee in the moments immediately following the play as he hobbled to the sideline in obvious pain.
“In the moment, it definitely was pretty scary — the initial pain, the initial shock of it,” said Watson, who missed three games earlier this season with a hamstring injury. “Obviously the situation, as well. Being under two minutes (left in the game), I was doing anything I could to get up and get off the field, so we didn’t have to burn a timeout or get a 10-second runoff. I just couldn’t get up quick enough.
