The Green Bay Packers have an extremely important matchup with the NFC North rival Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.

Both teams are in the middle of a tight battle for playoff positioning in the division, and the conference, and the outcome of the holiday meeting will have major postseason implications. Unfortunately for the Packers, they’ll continue to be without dynamic wide receiver Jayden Reed for the game against Detroit.

Jayden Reed won’t return for Packers in Week 13

Reed suffered a fractured collarbone during Green Bay’s Week 2 meeting against the Washington Commanders, and he’s been sidelined since. His return won’t come against the Lions, as he’s been officially ruled out of the game.

But, while he won’t play on Thanksgiving, Reed is moving closer towards a return, as he’s been listed as a limited participant on recent injury reports.

Since he appears to be heading in the right direction, perhaps Reed will be able to return to the field when the Packers host the Bears in Week 14. That will be another important divisional game with major playoff implications on the line.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell actually thought that Reed would return for the holiday matchup, so he was probably relieved to hear that there was one less weapon for his defense to worry about.

The battle between the Packers and Lions will be the first of three NFL games on Thanksgiving Day. The Dallas Cowboys will host the Kansas City Chiefs in the second game, while the Cincinnati Bengals will travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in the final game of the day.