Cheese Curds, 8/7: Injuries are starting to affect Packers’ secondary

The Green Bay Packers practiced on Monday without a few key players as the team returned from an off day following Saturday’s Family Night, and questions about the depth of the secondary in particular are beginning to bubble up. Two potential starting defensive backs missed Monday’s practice entirely, with another only participating briefly before leaving the field.

At cornerback, each of the top draft picks from the last two years sat out. Kevin King missed practice with a shoulder injury — thankfully it was an issue with a different shoulder than the one he had surgery on several months ago — while rookie Jaire Alexander skipped on-field work due to a groin issue.

Joining them on the shelf was Kentrell Brice, who actually returned to practice early on, to much rejoicing, but who was forced to leave after just a few reps. Brice was listed as the starter on the Packers’ first unofficial depth chart yesterday, but in all likelihood will split snaps with Josh Jones. Still, that makes three DBs with potential starting roles who were unable to practice or at least make it through a full practice on Monday.

In today’s curds, however, we find that one of those players in particular is not concerned about sitting out on Monday, which is hopefully an indication that he will be ready to go for the preseason opener on Thursday against the Titans.

Packers CB Jaire Alexander describes practice absence as precautionary | Packers Wire
Fingers crossed that Alexander’s day off on Monday is indeed limited to a one-day rest period. Fans will certainly want to see him in action in the preseason opener, and it would be helpful to get him live reps as soon as possible.

Tight end Marcedes Lewis adds new dimension to Packers offense | Packersnews.com
Are you excited about Lewis’ punishing run blocking ability? If not, why not?

Packers take a break for second-ever ‘McCarthy Olympics’ | Packers.com
We missed this bit of news on Friday -- the team took the afternoon off from meetings and film review to have some fun. It’s always nice to see players with such big smiles on their faces and clearly having fun and connecting with one another.

McVay not expecting Aaron Donald to report soon - NFL.com
Womp womp. The man who is probably the best defensive player in the NFL right now won't get an accrued free agency season for 2018, meaning that he'll be a restricted free agent next spring if he and the Rams can't come to a contract agreement.

Madden NFL 19: The weird story behind the first ‘John Madden Football’ game - SBNation.com
I actually didn't know there was an Apple II version of Madden Football -- I had thought the Sega Genesis version was the first.

Disturbing footage of a bear playing a vuvuzela in a jeep emerges from Russia | indy100
The headline says it all. There’s actually video footage of this.