What to Know: 6 Packers inactive vs. Raiders, including RB Aaron Jones
By Paul Bretl
Six members of the Green Bay Packers will be inactive against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, including running back Aaron Jones.
Jones was listed as questionable, still dealing with the same hamstring injury that had previously sidelined him. However, despite playing last Thursday against Detroit – albeit on a snap count – and practicing in a limited fashion all week, he will not play.
To bolster the running back depth, the Packers signed Patrick Taylor to the 53-man roster and released edge rusher Justin Hollins to make room. You can read more here about the impact that Jones not being available has on tonight’s game.
Also inactive are De’Vondre Campbell and Zayne Anderson, both of whom were ruled out on Saturday. In Campbell’s place at linebacker has been Isaiah McDuffie primarily, along with Eric Wilson on some running downs. With Raiders’ quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo utilizing the middle of the field and underneath routes often, McDuffie – along with Quay Walker – is going to have a busy night, not to mention that it’s now or never for the run defense.
Anderson was a healthy scratch the first two games and has been dealing with a hamstring injury the last three. Cornerback Corey Ballentine was elevated from the practice squad to assist on special teams.
With Christian Watson back in the mix at receiver, Malik Heath will be inactive for the second game in a row. With five receivers on the depth chart ahead of him and with how active the running backs and tight ends are in the passing game, along with how many two running back and tight end sets the Packers utilize, there really isn’t a huge need for a sixth receiver.
Safety Anthony Johnson is inactive as well. As previously mentioned, as a seventh-round pick who is only in his second season playing the position, 2023 is going to largely serve as a red-shirt-like season for him. With Johnson inactive, that means Rudy Ford, who was questionable, will play.
Lastly, Caleb Jones is the final inactive. Although the Packers are a bit more thin at offensive tackle without David Bakhtiari, they opted to keep both Royce Newman and Sean Rhyan active as interior options with both Elgton Jenkins and Jon Runyan on this week’s injury report. The Packers will have their current preferred five on the offensive available for the first time since Week 1.
With Eric Stokes being on the PUP list, he does not need to be listed as inactive, but it’s already been reported that he won’t play in this game. Stokes returned to practice for the first time last week, and as of this upcoming Tuesday, the Packers will have two weeks remaining to add him to the 53-man roster.