The Green Bay Packers will look to get a win out of their bye week as they host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. While the Packers should feel confident about where they are, they should be concerned by the status of defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt.
Wyatt was injured during the Packers’ tie with the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4, and many thought the week off would help him heal up and be ready to go for Sunday. Unfortunately, Wyatt wasn’t on the practice field when the Packers returned on Monday, and his status has only gotten worse with each passing day.
The final chance for Wyatt to return for the Bengals game was sunk when The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman reported that the 27-year-old was not at practice on Friday. The only question now is how long he could be out and whether a stint on injured reserve is on the table.
Packers Defense Braces for Life Without Devonte Wyatt
Wyatt’s week began with a missed practice on Monday, but the Packers provided some extra fears when they worked out five defensive tackles after that practice. While many assumed that was to potentially fill Wyatt’s spot on the roster, the Packers didn’t make a signing as a result of the workouts. Since then, Wyatt has not returned to the practice field since and head coach Matt LaFleur admitted on Thursday that “The closer we get to game time, the harder it is to see (Wyatt) out there.”
The absence of Wyatt would be a big blow to the Packers' defense. Green Bay had a 13-2 lead on the Cowboys before Wyatt was injured chasing Miles Sanders for a tackle, and Dallas hung 38 points on the Packers' defense en route to the 40-40 draw. Star pass rusher Micah Parsons even cited Wyatt’s injury as the reason the defense imploded in that game, and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley noted that Wyatt was having “a great year” during his weekly press conference on Thursday.
“He’s having a great year – not a good year, a great year,” Hafley said via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. "Hope he’s back very shortly, but part of our job is to develop guys.”
With Wyatt unlikely to go, the Packers will likely turn to a combination of Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, Nazir Stackhouse, and Warren Brinson in the middle of the defensive line on Sunday. But the bigger question is how much time Wyatt could miss.
Green Bay has a stretch of winnable games coming up, and Wyatt could be ready for a Nov. 2 game against the Carolina Panthers or a Nov. 10 meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles. LaFleur noted after the Week 4 matchup that Wyatt is “week-to-week,” meaning he could return sooner or perhaps later.
The Packers are hoping that Wyatt’s condition isn’t a sign of things to come. But they’ll have to figure it out on Sunday and hope another week off will get him back on the right track.