Packers designate Jason Spriggs to return off injured reserve

The Green Bay Packers have come out of the bye week healthier than when they entered it. According to ESPN's Rob Demovsky, offensive tackle Jason Spriggs practiced for the first time since the team placed him on injured reserve at the start of the season. That means the Packers have elected to use one of their IR-return designations on Spriggs.

Outside of Aaron Rodgers' broken collarbone, injuries have taken the largest toll along the Packers' offensive line. Three starters -- David Bakhtiari, Lane Taylor, and Bryan Bulaga -- have missed starts and several of the team's top backups have suffered ailments of their own. At one point, Green Bay played an entire game without a healthy offensive tackle. In addition to Spriggs, the team placed Kyle Murphy and Don Barclay (since released) on injured reserve.

Spriggs' return should help alleviate some of those depth concerns. However, he did not have the most productive training camp or preseason, too often missing blocks and allowing Murphy to pass him on the depth chart. Still, with Murphy gone for the foreseeable future and Barclay no longer in Green Bay, Spriggs represents the Packers' best option should Bakhtiari or Bulaga go down with another injury.

With Spriggs back in the fold, the Packers have one more IR-return designation at their disposal. In a best-case scenario, the team would use that on Rodgers as early as Week 15.

The Packers released defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois earlier in the week, clearing a spot for Spriggs for when the Packers make his activation official. The team cannot officially activate Spriggs until eight weeks have passed since he went on injured reserve. Green Bay placed him on IR on Sept. 21.