The starting safety was added to the injury report on Saturday
The Green Bay Packers announced on Saturday that starting rookie safety Evan Williams is officially listed as questionable for the Packers’ Monday Night Football showdown against the New Orleans Saints. Williams did not appear on the injury report previously and was given a quadricep designation. The safety must have injured himself during Saturday’s practice or sometime between Friday and Saturday’s practices.
With fellow rookie safety Javon Bullard (ankle) already ruled out, missing Williams for this game would mean that special teams ace Zayne Anderson would fill in as the starting safety. Anderson played 53 of his career 64 defensive snaps at the NFL level two weeks ago against the Detroit Lions.
Along with Bullard, middle linebacker Quay Walker (ankle) has also been ruled out for the game. Walker will be replaced by Eric Wilson, who has played the fourth linebacker role for Green Bay for most of the season.
The players who are listed as questionable with Williams are cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee), cornerback Corey Ballentine (knee) and tight end Luke Musgrave (ankle). Alexander was a full participant in every practice this week, but he has only played 10 snaps for Green Bay since he was originally injured against the Jacksonville Jaguars at mid-season. After practice on Saturday, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said that the team would evaluate Alexander’s practice film “and then make a decision.”
Ballentine pushed through his knee injury last week to play against the Seattle Seahawks. The assumption is that he’ll be able to do the same this week. Musgrave, meanwhile, is still on the injured reserve and has yet to be activated from the list. The Packers seem optimistic that he’ll be able to contribute in the near future, but if he is active against the New Orleans Saints, assume that he’ll be on a pitch count.
The Saints officially ruled out starting quarterback Derek Carr, starting running back Alvin Kamara and number one receiver Chris Olave on Saturday. It’s fair to say their offense is going to be playing with one hand tied behind their back. Former Packers receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling was a non-participant in practice this week and is listed as questionable with a chest injury and an illness.