Despite the slew of names on the injury report from Thursday's practice, the Green Bay Packers appear to be in relatively good shape as they near Sunday's must-win matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. There is bad news about one player, though, as defensive lineman Johnny Jolly was ruled out for Sunday's game.
Here is the team's full injury report:
Limited Parcitipation: Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Pickett, C.J. Wilson
Did Not Participate: Brandon Bostick, Brad Jones, Eddie Lacy, Mike Neal, Nick Perry
OUT: Johnny Jolly
Mike McCarthy addressed Jolly's situation, saying that he sustained a "significant injury." Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post suggested earlier in the day that Jolly could go on Injured Reserve, and McCarthy's comments seem to back this up. Besides, given McCarthy's penchant for being vague about injuries, using a word like "significant" is a pretty good sign that Jolly is indeed seriously hurt.
Missing Jolly in the lineup will certainly be a blow to the Packers' run defense, especially with a big, physical running back like Le'Veon Bell on the other sideline this Sunday. Josh Boyd, Mike Daniels, and Jerel Worthy seem the likeliest candidates to fill in for Jolly this week and moving forward if he continues to miss tiem.
As for Aaron Rodgers, apparently the QB "looked very good" in practice (after the media portion, when he didn't do much), but McCarthy reiterated that he had not been cleared to play. Once again, the coach said that the team will make that decision with team doctor Pat McKenzie on Friday morning, but he went so far as to say that Rodgers looks "sharp" and "ready to play." Still, with Matt Flynn taking the bulk of the reps in practice, the team is again preparing to roll with Flynn at quarterback against the Steelers.
Ultimately, it has become a fool's errand to try to figure out whether or not Rodgers will play before Friday's press conference.