The group coming back includes the team’s starting punter and two tight ends, among others.
Just like that, the Green Bay Packers have just two players on the reserve/COVID-19 list for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. On Saturday, the Packers brought back six players from the virus list, five of them coming back onto the active roster in time for the game.
The group of reactivated players consists of punter Corey Bojorquez, offensive lineman Ben Braden, inside linebackers Oren Burks and Ty Summers, and tight ends Tyler Davis and Marcedes Lewis. Summers was reinstated to the injured reserve list, while the other five players returned to the active 53-man roster.
According to Packersnews.com’s Tom Silverstein, all of these players were vaccinated and asymptomatic, and all are expected to be in uniform on Sunday night against the Vikings, though they must be officially cleared by the medical staff.
These players’ statuses mean that the team has just two active players on the reserve/COVID list: defensive lineman Kingsley Keke and receiver/return man Amari Rodgers. One other player is on the list, outside linebacker Chauncey Rivers, but he was on injured reserve prior to landing on the list and is expected to be out for the season. The return of several players today, in addition to more reinforcements coming off the COVID list earlier this week, should help the team play at nearly full strength on Sunday Night Football.
Bojorquez’s return in particular is critical for the Packers, who did not have another punter on the roster. Likewise, the tight ends being reactivated will allow the team to roll with its usual four-deep group at that position, while Braden provides all-important depth on the offensive line.
With Rodgers remaining on the list, however, the Packers will need to find another option in the return game. That will likely fall to recent signing David Moore, whom the Packers signed to the practice squad this week. In addition to the COVID roster moves, the Packers made two other roster transactions on Saturday, promoting Moore and defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson from the practice squad as COVID-19 emergency replacements. Moore is expected to be the team’s primary return option, while Anderson should help provide line depth to fill in for Keke’s absence.
Keep it here at APC for updates ahead of game time on the Packers’ inactives and any other roster news heading into Sunday’s game.