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GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2014 The Packers may have found their right guard of the future.<\/p>\n
Rookie second-round pick Anthony Belton didn\u2019t start last Sunday against the Vikings, but he alternated series in the first half at right guard with 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan. After halftime, however, it was all Belton.<\/p>\n
Head coach Matt LaFleur wouldn\u2019t divulge whether Belton will start on Thursday afternoon against the Lions in Detroit, but he was nonetheless pleased with the mammoth rookie\u2019s first substantial action since Week 3 and his first NFL game action at guard after filling in at tackle early this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came in there and he did a great job,\u201d LaFleur said. \u201cI thought he showed the physicality and the strain that we\u2019re looking for at that position. Obviously, he\u2019s a big man, first time playing guard, but I thought, all in all, I thought he did a pretty good job.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Packers began Belton in camp working strictly at tackle so as not to overload his plate. The team prefers its reserve offensive linemen to be able to fill in both at tackle and on the interior, and offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said Belton has been practicing at guard for a couple of weeks now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching him play earlier this year before he hurt his ankle, we just saw what we had there and what we liked,\u201d Stenavich said. \u201cHe obviously got injured, so it kind of set him back, but it was a move that we wanted to eventually do and give him a shot out there, and I thought he did a nice job of answering.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stenavich wouldn\u2019t commit to Belton playing right guard long term, but the home stretch of this season may be his audition to lock down that spot for at least next season. Belton\u2019s emergence this year means Morgan heads to the bench, but Morgan\u2019s best position is left tackle, anyway. That\u2019s likely where he\u2019ll start next season after starter Rasheed Walker (probably) leaves in free agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to keep competing,\u201d Stenavich said of Morgan. \u201cJust like any young player going through your ups and downs, just trying to find your best spot. But he\u2019s going to keep competing. We\u2019re going to keep working him in there and he\u2019s going to be a good player for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Josh Jacobs, RB:<\/strong> Jacobs told reporters last Thursday that the worst-case scenario for his knee injury was only missing one game. That DNP came last Sunday against the Vikings. Jacobs wasn\u2019t present in the locker room during media availability on Tuesday and LaFleur said the team will see how Jacobs is feeling on Thursday morning, noting there are no actual practices this week to test Jacobs\u2019 knee. Jacobs was listed as a limited participant on both Monday and Tuesday on the injury report estimation.<\/p>\n Jayden Reed, WR:<\/strong> Reed will have participated in only one legitimate practice since being designated to return from injured reserve come Thursday, and that came last Friday in a limited capacity. The third-year receiver hasn\u2019t played since Week 2, after which he underwent foot and collarbone surgeries. He might be the Packers\u2019 best wide receiver and most potent yards-after-catch threat with tight end Tucker Kraft out for the year, so even having him available on a snap count in Detroit would be helpful.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll know by Wednesday afternoon if Reed will be available, since that\u2019s when the Packers would activate him to the 53-man roster. He was also estimated as a limited participant on Monday and Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as he feels good and confident, I\u2019m sure he can go out there in some capacity and help us, for sure,\u201d Stenavich said.<\/p>\n Keisean Nixon, CB:<\/strong> Green Bay\u2019s No. 1 cornerback suffered a neck injury in the second quarter last Sunday and missed the remainder of the game. He was upgraded from an estimated non-participant to a limited participant on Tuesday\u2019s injury report estimation, but LaFleur said they\u2019ll give Nixon up until inactives are due an hour and a half before Thursday\u2019s game (figuratively speaking) before determining if he can play.<\/p>\n Lukas Van Ness, DE:<\/strong> Van Ness suffered a foot injury on his sack in Week 6 and missed five games despite never being put on injured reserve. The injury took longer to heal than the Packers anticipated and that recovery may now take even longer. Van Ness was an estimated DNP on Monday and Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s a setback,\u201d LaFleur said. \u201cI just think it\u2019s just where he\u2019s at, and we thought he might be able to go. And he tried to go and wasn\u2019t feeling it, so that\u2019s where he\u2019s at.\u201d<\/p>\n Linebacker Quay Walker suffered a stinger against the Giants in Week 11, didn\u2019t practice the following week and didn\u2019t play against the Vikings. He has been an estimated limited participant on Monday and Tuesday. So too has wide receiver Matthew Golden (wrist), who didn\u2019t play against the Vikings. Wide receiver Savion Williams and defensive tackle Karl Brooks were estimated DNPs on Monday and Tuesday, but they both missed practice time last week and still played on Sunday.<\/p>\n With a win Thursday against the Lions (7-4), the Packers (7-3-1) could sit atop the NFC North by Friday night. The Bears (8-3) visit the Eagles (8-3) on Friday afternoon and would fall below the Packers with a loss if Green Bay improves to 8-3-1.<\/p>\n The Packers would also jump to the No. 3 seed in the NFC in that scenario, in addition to starting 3-0 in the division and sweeping the Lions this season.<\/p>\n With a loss, however, the Packers would likely drop out of the playoff field entirely entering Week 14. If Green Bay loses and the 49ers beat the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday, the Packers will fall to No. 8 in the NFC.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a big game,\u201d defensive end Micah Parsons said. \u201cOver the last couple weeks, we won some good games and we lost some good games. We have to find a way to win the good games again. We did it earlier in the season, but we got to find a way to do it Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n According to The Athletic\u2019s<\/em> NFL Playoff Simulator, the Packers currently have an 83 percent chance to make the playoffs and a 48 percent chance to win the division. With a win in Detroit, those percentages elevate to 94 and 72, respectively. With a loss, they fall to 73 and about 30 percent, respectively.<\/p>\n Perhaps the key to changing special teams fortunes in Green Bay once and for all is Zayne \u201cWhite Lightning\u201d Anderson.<\/p>\n The 28-year-old safety earned a game ball last Sunday for his role in Minnesota\u2019s muffed punt that Anderson recovered at the Vikings\u2019 5-yard line. Punter Daniel Whelan referred to Anderson as \u201cWhite Lightning\u201d after the game and though special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia didn\u2019t give Anderson the nickname, he certainly understands it.<\/p>\n \u201cHe can run now,\u201d Bisaccia said. \u201cHe can run.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson doesn\u2019t kick field goals or make returns, but perhaps his spark in coverage is what the chronically underwhelming third phase of the Packers needs.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the biggest thing to look at is when we lost him at the end of last year, what happened?\u201d Bisaccia said. \u201cWe gave up a couple plays. He was in a valuable spot for us playing inside at personal protector and he moved outside playing the flier position for us. So having him back, he\u2019s kind of a leader by example, whether it\u2019s in practice or in the meeting room. He meets with the personal protectors on Tuesday. He meets with the fliers throughout the week, so he\u2019s a vital part of what we\u2019re trying to do here and what we\u2019re trying to build here and he\u2019s a good player. He gets free and he makes tackles. A lot of respect to him because he gets doubled a bunch on the kickoff team.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson, who filled in admirably at safety last season, doesn\u2019t only impact special teams.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a guy that does all the little things right, has all the right habits and is a guy that constantly challenges just our whole room to be as good as they can be,\u201d safety Evan Williams said. \u201cYou see him practicing his habits. He\u2019s not even in the reps and you see him behind during walkthroughs getting those mental reps, stacking all those repetitions. So when he gets his opportunity, he plays like he did on Sunday. It\u2019s really, really not a surprise at this point. He\u2019s a guy that just does everything the right way and I remember last year, he gets his opportunity against the Saints, against a couple teams, gets a pick, is balling out, so yeah, as far as his habits and how he approaches the game, his mental approach, second to none.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Packers could either be atop the NFC North or out of the playoff field entirely by the end of Week 13.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[48],"class_list":["post-38439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-bay-packers","tag-green-bay-packers"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat\u2019s at stake<\/h2>\n
White Lightning<\/h2>\n