Kenny Clark Injury: Packers rule star nose tackle out for week 2 against Lions

The Green Bay Packers will not have the services of their best defensive lineman on Sunday when they welcome the Detroit Lions into Lambeau Field. Head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed that nose tackle Kenny Clark will not play in week two after he suffered a groin injury last weekend in Minnesota.

Clark’s absence will be a major loss for a team that has had trouble stopping the run even with him on the field. In week one, the Packers allowed Minnesota running backs Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison to total 100 rushing yards on 18 carries, a 5.6-yard per-carry average. The Packers will now face a Lions squad whose three-headed running back group carried the ball 24 times for 115 yards against the Bears in week one.

This will be the first game that Clark has missed due to injury since the 2018 season, when he sat out the final three games of the year with an elbow injury.

The team will turn to a relatively young group of linemen this week that will likely have Tyler Lancaster starting in Clark’s place at nose tackle. Losing a player who took the field for 84 percent of the team’s defensive snaps last year will be a challenge, and LaFleur acknowledged that the team’s depth will be tested on Sunday: “I don’t think we played great last week there, and I know these guys are hungry to get out there.”

Stay tuned for the team’s complete injury report later on Friday afternoon.