Packers Place Promising Wide Receiver on Injured Reserve

The Green Bay Packers will spend the first month of the 2020 season without one of their promising receiving weapons.

The Packers placed wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, a 2018 sixth-round pick, on injured reserve Saturday afternoon with an ankle injury that sidelined him at practice all week. He had been unexpectedly ruled inactive for Week 1’s 43-34 win over the Minnesota Vikings and has not played a regular-season game since his rookie season.

St. Brown must now spend a minimum of three weeks on IR before he can be activated again.

The Packers also elevated defensive lineman Willington Previlon and tight end John Lovett from the practice squad to their active roster for game day, putting them at 54 players for Week 2’s home opener against the Detroit Lions. Both will revert back after Sunday’s game with St. Brown’s departure leaving one roster space available.

Lovett has now been called up in back-to-back weeks after playing 15 snaps (14 on special teams) against the Vikings and has reached his elevations limit for the 2020 season, which means the Packers will need to sign him to a 53-man roster contract if they wish to bring him into the fold again after Week 2.

The Packers are down to just four true wideouts on their active roster heading into Sunday’s noon CT kickoff against the Lions, including star wide receiver Davante Adams and fellow starters Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The fourth option, Malik Taylor, played on just one offensive snap last week but could see increased opportunities with St. Brown out.

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Another Roster Spot Expected to Open

While the Packers will begin Week 3 with an open spot on their active roster, another one could soon become available with veteran right guard Lane Taylor expected to join St. Brown and two others on the team’s injured reserve list.

Taylor was officially ruled out for Week 2’s game against the Lions, but the Packers have already confirmed he is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury he sustained in Week 1. He had bounced back from a season-ending injury in 2019 and won the starting right guard job coming into the 2020 season, opposite where he played prior.

A move to IR hasn’t been confirmed yet for Taylor, but it would seem the logical move for the injury-troubled offensive lineman. He would presumably be the only occupant on the list the Packers are not expecting to get back this season; though, no updates have been given on the return timetables for backup cornerback Kabion Ento or fifth-round linebacker Kamal Martin.

Either way, the Packers can be expected to fill out at least one space on their active roster in the coming week. They addressed their last roster opening ahead of Week 1 when they signed undrafted rookie Krys Barnes from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, crowning him an opening-day starter at inside linebacker alongside Christan Kirksey.

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