Getty Kevin King #20 of the Green Bay Packers before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Dignity Health Sports Park on November 03, 2019 in Carson, California.
While cornerback Kevin King tends to be one of the Green Bay Packers’ most scrutinized defenders, it would be hard disputing his toughness after what his head coach said he played through during Week 5’s win in Cincinnati.
King had missed the past two games for the Packers with a concussion he sustained in Week 3 prior to their game in San Francisco, but he returned on Sunday against the Bengals and played his best game of the year, allowing just 17 receiving yards across his 31 coverage snaps and tallying a season-high four tackles.
Apparently, King also did so while gritting his way through a new shoulder injury.
“He was playing part of that game with basically one arm,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur revealed in the postgame after King exited late in the fourth quarter due to his shoulder. “So, I thought he competed well and was playing really, really well. I thought he triggered and was physical when people caught balls. There were a couple of short passes thrown right in front … where he triggered and he did it later on as well. I was happy with how he was playing and it’s unfortunate that that happened.”
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Awkward Contact With Boyd Was ‘Final Straw’
Many speculated after the game that King might have injured his shoulder on the fourth-quarter play that ended with Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd jumping into his upper body. It had appeared as though Boyd had thought King was going low for a tackle, prompting him to try leaping over him for additional yardage. Instead, he collided with King awkwardly and knocked him out for the remainder of the game.
While LaFleur didn’t share the exact play in which King sustained his shoulder injury in Sunday’s postgame, he did clarify that it happened before his run-in with Boyd.
“It happened earlier,” LaFleur said. “I think that was just the final straw, if you will.”
Unfortunately, LaFleur didn’t have any news on whether King would be available for Week 6’s road game against the Chicago Bears and told reporters on Monday that he wouldn’t have more information on his shoulder injury until later on the week, expectedly on Wednesday, October 13, when the week’s first injury report is released.
He also acknowledged the Packers’ concerns about their cornerback depth now that both of their top veterans are dealing with injuries.
“Yeah, I think absolutely,” LaFleur said when asked if the team was concerned about the recent stretch of injuries at cornerback. “Any time you’re losing starters, that’s never fun, but it is the next man up and we’re fortunate that we’ve got other guys here that we feel very, very confident in and they’re going to have to prove us right.”
Eric Stokes’ Value Continues to Rise
The Packers could be heading to Chicago next weekend with first-round rookie Eric Stokes as their top available cornerback depending on the severity of King’s injury, which presents some obvious depth concerns against a speed-laden Bears offense that touts receiving weapons such as Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney. If the Packers are going to mash the panic button, though, it won’t be because of Stokes.
Stokes, the No. 29 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has continued to impress for the Packers over his first five games in the big leagues. After earning limited opportunities in his first two performances, Stokes stepped up in Week 3 to make his first career start against San Francisco and allowed just two receptions for 22 yards. The very next week, he sealed the Packers’ 27-17 victory over Pittsburgh when he picked off one of Ben Roethlisberger’s passes in the fourth quarter, adding a career-best eight tackles as well.
While Stokes did have a tougher time in Week 5, LaFleur never felt his rookie corner put himself in a poor position against the Bengals despite Joe Burrow and fellow first-rounder Ja’Marr Chase making him pay a few times throughout the afternoon.
“I thought Stokes competed at the highest level,” LaFleur said. “I loved how he just challenged (Ja’Marr) Chase and was in great position on, really, every throw that he had on him. You’ve got to give the Bengals credit, you’ve got to give Ja’Marr a lot of credit. That catch that he made in overtime on the sidelines was … I mean, there’s very few guys that are going to make that play. I also think (Joe) Burrow did a nice job on one of the third downs where he threw a back shoulder and that’s just one of those plays where he’s in perfect position and you’ve got to chalk it up to the offense in that situation for their execution. I always tell our guys, ‘There’s no defense for the perfect ball,’ and that was the perfect ball and the guy adjusted on the fly.”