Packers Injury Update: King in concussion protocol, no decisions on Jenkins and MVS

On Wednesday, we received some injury updates on the Green Bay Packers. First, the good news: inside linebacker Krys Barnes, who was replaced by Ty Summers last week after Barnes sustained a concussion vs the 49ers, is at practice, according to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. Here’s the bad news: “left tackle” Elgton Jenkins (ankle), receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (hamstring), and Kevin King (concussion) did not practice.

Following practice, head coach Matt LaFleur stated that the team “will take the entire week” to determine if Jenkins and Valdes-Scantling can suit up against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4, per Sports Illustrated’s Bill Huber.

Jenkins missed last week due to an ankle injury that he played through in Week 2 against the Detroit Lions, leading to Yosuah Nijman starting his first NFL game vs San Francisco. Worth noting, in the context of Nijman potentially starting back-to-back games at left tackle, is the fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers were out two pass-rushers (TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith) last week and abandoned their blitz-heavy philosophy against the Bengals. Both were limited participants in Steelers practice on Wednesday.

Valdes-Scantling injured his hamstring on a target in the mid-fourth quarter against the 49ers and did not return to the field following the injury. Should he miss a game(s), it would put more pressure on the likes of Randall Cobb, rookie Amari Rodgers, and Malik Taylor to produce. Practice squad wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who played against Detroit, was given a “protected” designation on the practice squad this week, his first of the season. He is another option for the Packers to throw at if MVS cannot suit up against Pittsburgh.

Per Huber, LaFleur also told the media that King was in concussion protocol. For what it’s worth, King was a late scratch against San Francisco for what at the time was called an illness. In his absence, rookie first-round pick Eric Stokes, who has been gaining more playing time every week of this season, played well.

Defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster, on the Covid list, is still not with the team, but if you want to watch something that will cheer you up a bit, here’s a video of left tackle David Bakhtiari working on ladders as he inches closer to returning from the injured reserve list: