The Green Bay Packers are very good at evaluating talent through the draft, but they have spent a couple of high draft picks in recent years on injury prone defensive lineman. The latest being DE Mike Neal. From the Journal-Sentinel:
Defensive end Mike Neal has undergone knee surgery and will be out "a significant amount of weeks," coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday.
Neal has been battling a knee injury since training camp and the medical staff was hoping through rehab and time the injury would heal. But a decision was made after last week that Neal needed surgery and would be sidelined.
As the title of this post implies, it's hard to imagine his loss having a huge impact when they've been without him for most of his NFL career. DE Jarius Wynn is a good pass rusher in his absence, and DE C.J. Wilson might be better than either of them against the run.
Also on the injury front: CB Tramon Williams sat out practice according to the Press-Gazette due to the shoulder bruise he suffered last week against the Saints. Unfortunately that doesn't say much either way about his availability next Sunday. There's no need for him to practice on Wednesday or Thursday if his shoulder is still sore. If he can practice on a limited basis on Friday, then he can play on Sunday.