What to Know: 7 Packers inactive, including several key starters

The Green Bay Packers are going to be without several key players against the New Orleans Saints with Aaron Jones, David Bakhtiari, Jaire Alexander and Christian Watson all unavailable. Here is a quick look at the seven inactive players and what you need to know.

With two practice squad elevations plus their 53 man roster, the Packers have 55 players eligible to be active for this game. However, teams are only able to have 48 players available on Sunday’s which is why seven players have to be listed as inactive.

Without Jones, the Packers struggling running game is going to hav to rely heavily on AJ Dillon once again, along with some likely snaps for Emanuel Wilson and Patrick Taylor mixed in as well. The offense’s inconsistency on the ground has put them into predictable passing situations on later downs, which has made moving the ball through the air difficult at times as well. Matt LaFleur said earlier in the week that all 11 players have to be better in the run game and that they are putting that entire operation under a microscope.

The Green Bay passing game is going to have to face an aggressive and physical Saints secondary without Watson. This is a group that will challenge the Packers young pass catchers at the line of scrimmage, although New Orleans is without two of their starting members in the secondary, safety Marcus Maye and cornerbacks Paulson Adebo.

Jordan Love taking care of the football will be crucial as will the Packers run game, and continued use of motion and leveraging their versatility on offense, all of which will help create opportunities in the passing game against a very good defense.

Bakhtiari will not play for the second week in a row. What we know is that he had some swelling in his knee pop up during the week prior to the Packers matchup with Atlanta. As he told reporters earlier in the week, he continues to be day-to-day. In his place, I would anticipate seeing Rasheed Walker once again.

Alexander had a back injury pop up late in the week that limited him in Friday’s practice. Without Alexander, it will be Carrington Valentine opposite of Rasul Douglas. This is a Saints offense that wants to push the ball downfield. Derek Carr leads the league in pass attempts of 20-plus yards.

Also on the inactive list are Zayne Anderson and Elgton Jenkins, both of whom were ruled out on Friday. Anderson was on the injury report all week with a hamstring injury. He was claimed off waivers following roster cutdowns to be a special teams contributor, but is yet to play for Green Bay after being inactive the first two games. The Packers elevated cornerback Corey Ballentine for today’s game to help cover special teams responsibilities and provide cornerback depth with Alexander out.

Jenkins, meanwhile, is out with an MCL sprain, but the good news is that he doesn’t anticipate going on IR. How the Packers fill his absence at left guard remains to be seen but they have a few options. I cover three of them here.

Lastly, rookie safety Anthony Johnson will be inactive as well. More often than not, this season is going to be more of a development season for him as he not only makes the jump to the NFL, but this is only his second season playing safety after spending most of his career at Iowa State as a cornerback.

Lukas Van Ness, who was questionable with an elbow injury, will play.