GREEN BAY, Wis. — Sitting at 8-3 with back-to-back wins since returning from their bye week, the Packers have a lot to be thankful for ahead of their Thanksgiving bout with the Dolphins.
Not among them, however, will be their injury report. While matters could certainly be worse, it isn’t ideal that they’ll be without three of their starters Thursday night. Jaire Alexander, their starting cornerback, has a knee injury, Cooper, their blossoming rookie linebacker, has a hamstring issue and Romeo Doubs, their third-year wideout who has been one of their most reliable pass-catchers this season, is in concussion protocol.
It’ll be just the second consecutive missed game for Cooper, who last appeared in the team’s Nov. 17 win over the Bears. Ditto for Alexander, who played just 10 defensive snaps in that game—but Alexander has missed five contests total this year. He sustained a torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in the Oct. 27 win over the Jaguars, but head coach Matt LaFleur doesn’t expect him to land on injured reserve. Alexander has played in seven games in back-to-back campaigns.
The Packers’ offense will have to figure out a way to consistently move the ball and generate production sans Doubs. He suffered a concussion while trying to high-point a ball in the end zone late in the third quarter last week against the 49ers.
Had the Packers played the Dolphins on a Sunday rather than Thursday, there’s a chance Doubs would be able to clear the league’s protocol in time to return to the lineup. Given the short turnaround between games, he was always going to be a long shot to play.
Doubs caught fire in the second quarter on Sunday, hauling in three receptions for 54 yards all on one possession. He had three straight third-down conversions, snagging a 29-yard reception on third-and-11, a 10-yard completion on third-and-5 and a 15-yard gain on third-and-10 that moved the Packers into the red zone. Three plays later, Josh Jacobs punched in the first of what would ultimately be three touchdowns that evening.
The hope is that Doubs—perhaps even Alexander and Cooper—can return for the Dec. 5 game against the Lions, exactly one week from Thursday. On the season, no receiver on the roster has been targeted more than Doubs’ 53. He’s caught 34 passes for 483 yards and two touchdowns—he’s second on the team in both receptions and yards behind Jayden Reed.
Doubs was issued a one-game suspension by the Packers for conduct detrimental to the team when he skipped a pair of practices ahead of their Oct. 6 game against the Rams in Los Angeles. Since his return, though, he’s been fantastic, securing 22 of his 33 targets for 314 yards and two touchdowns. He leads the team in all four categories and Jordan Love has a 104.9 passer rating when targeting him.
It’ll likely be Reed who plays the biggest role in picking up the pieces to account for Doubs’ absence. The Packers could also benefit from a productive performance from Christian Watson, who may want to avenge the stomach-turning drop that would’ve gone for a 49-yard go-ahead score at the end of the half against the 49ers.
Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton and Malik Heath will all see their fair share of snaps versus the Dolphins. Wicks went nearly a month without a catch before finally catching one of his two targets for 25 yards against the 49ers while Heath hauled in three-yard touchdown pass from Love late in the fourth quarter.
Linebacker Isaiah McDuffie, tight end John FitzPatrick and center Josh Myers are all listed as questionable for Thursday night. McDuffie, who is dealing with an ankle injury, and FitzPatrick, who has a back injury, were both upgraded to limited participants in Wednesday’s walkthrough while Myers was upgraded to a full participant with his pectoral injury.