Injuries might not limit Packers in Week 1, but they could affect roster decisions before then

The Packers expect their QB and most of their injured wideouts to return by Week 1. However, those absences could force the team to pivot in meaningful ways between now and final cuts.

When the Green Bay Packers assembled their 2025 roster, they surely envisioned an unencumbered Jordan Love throwing all manner of passes to a deep, talented receiving corps capable of attacking every portion of the football field. This, along with tweaks to the offensive line and the defense, would form the engine of a Super Bowl contender.

The scenes that transpired on Thursday looked a little different, however. During a joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts, Love spent practice wearing a bucket hat and a cast over his surgically repaired left thumb. Five of the Packers' top six wide receivers -- Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks, and Savion Williams -- joined him on the sidelines, each nursing injuries of varying degrees of severity.

All of which left the Packers to play with far less than a full deck. At one particular low point, the No. 1 offense featured Malik Willis under center with Julian Hicks and Cornelius Johnson as the only wideouts on the field. To no one's surprise, the unit struggled, unable to advance the ball so much as a yard during the two-minute drill to end the joint practice.

"Coming to these joint practices, there's always going to be some good plays from the offense, some good plays from the defense," Love said afterward. "For us, I think it's more just how do we respond to seeing a new look, seeing a new defense, and just trusting our rules and things like that, and going out there and playing each play to the best of our ability?

"I think there were some good plays out there, and I think there was some stuff that we left out there. It'll be good film to go back there and watch tomorrow when we get into that meeting room. But I think the best part is seeing a new defense, seeing new looks, and seeing when it comes to life when we get out on the field. We've been going against our defense for so long, and you get used to certain looks. So, once you see new stuff, it's always good to see."

Fortunately for the Packers, they shouldn't have to watch this version of the offense for much longer. Head coach Matt LaFleur expects Love to have "some sort of participation" in practice next week and called Doubs' back issue "nothing concerning long term." Meanwhile, the team had previously stated that Reed has a chance to return from his foot injury by Week 1, and Watson has a realistic shot to play early in the season despite tearing his ACL in January.

Ultimately, these injuries might not limit the Packers when they host the Detroit Lions on Sept. 7. However, they could materially affect Green Bay's roster decisions between now and then.