The Green Bay Packers’ season has been thrown for a loop due to several key injuries in the final month of the season. While they’ve managed to make the playoffs, the loss of Micah Parsons and Lukas Van Ness' ongoing foot injury have played a massive role in weakening the front seven ahead of the playoffs.
The injuries, combined with Rashan Gary’s disappearing act, have made things more difficult going into Saturday’s Wild Card matchup with the Chicago Bears. But the one area that has flown under the radar is the interior of the defensive line.
The Packers lost some muscle in the trenches when Devonte Wyatt suffered a fractured ankle during a Thanksgiving victory over the Detroit Lions, and they’ve been scrambling to fill his place. While Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, and Warren Brinson have done their best to hold things down, it may be the return of Jonathan Ford that makes a difference, as he’s looked better in his second stint with the team.
Jonathan Ford’s Week 18 Performance Could Lead to Expanded Role in Playoffs
A seventh-round pick by the Packers in the 2022 draft, Ford didn’t appear in a game with Green Bay before he was placed on waivers in Dec. 2024. At which time, he promptly signed with the Chicago Bears. Ford had a similar time in Chicago, bouncing back and forth between the practice squad and the active roster, but found his way back to Green Bay after he was elevated a maximum of three times and claimed off waivers on Dec. 29.
Ford didn’t have much time to reacclimate himself in Green Bay after logging four tackles in eight games with the Bears this season. But he looked like an improved player, posting a 54.7 overall grade and a pair of tackles in the regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings, according to Pro Football Focus. Packer Update’s Michael Rodney added that Ford was stout against the run and looked like an improved player since the last time he was with the team.
Expectations should be modest here as it’s unlikely that Ford has become a mainstay of the defensive line. But there’s enough here where he could have a larger role as a depth piece in the playoffs.
While Brooks, Wooden, and Brinson are locked into their roles, UDFA Nazir Stackhouse has been more of a project after a promising preseason. Sunday’s game against the Vikings was particularly troubling as Stackhouse played a career-high 45 snaps, but he managed a 46.0 overall grade and missed a tackle on his two attempts.
Whiffing on the routine plays is a good way to get sent to the bench, and while it’s not urgent from a long-term standpoint, it’s important after both meetings with the Bears were decided by one score earlier this season.
That could give Ford the opening he needs to contribute on Saturday and make sure his second stint in Green Bay ends up better than his first.