Packers Make Final Call on Kenny Clark’s Injury Status vs. Lions

Kenny Clark will not be suiting up for Green Bay Packers this Sunday after the star defensive tackle missed the entire week of practice with an injury.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed Friday afternoon that Clark will not play in Week 2’s home opener against the Detroit Lions as he continues to work back from a groin injury that knocked him out of Week’s win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Clark has established himself as an integral part of the Packers defense over the past few seasons, coming off a career-best season in 2019 that saw him tally 62 total tackles with nine for a loss, six sacks and a forced fumble. The Packers rewarded him with a record-setting contract extension just before the start of 2020 training camp, one that will pay him $70 million over the four years and makes him the NFL’s highest-paid nose tackle.

Earlier this week, Clark told WDUZ-The Fan that his foot slid on the ground during a play late in Sunday’s second quarter and caused him to strain his groin muscle. While he felt better, he also added he was not sure the extent of his injury and that the medical staff would re-evaluate him on Thursday for the upcoming game.

The Packers will expectedly turn to either Tyler Lancaster or Montravius Adams to start in place of Clark, but Adams’ status remains uncertain as he battles with a sprained toe that sidelined him for several practices in training camp and held him out in Week 1. He was deemed questionable on the team’s official injury report for Week 2.

Without Clark, the Packers will also need heightened play from its other two defensive line starters — Dean Lowry and Kingsley Keke — against the Lions. Each played on more than half of the Packers’ defensive snaps in Week 1 against the Vikings, but Clark finished the game as the only Green Bay defensive lineman with a tackle.

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Could Packers Elevate DL from Practice Squad?

The Packers took advantage of a new NFL practice-squad rule last Sunday that allowed them to promote two reserve players to their game-day roster, increasing the capacity to 55 players under the condition that they return to the practice squad after the game.

Don’t be surprised if it happens again in Week 2 with one (or both) of the defensive linemen occupying the Packers’ practice. The Packers came away with a victory in Minnesota despite playing an entire half without Clark, but the same type of gamble might not pay off against the Lions if they carry just three injury-free defensive linemen into Sunday’s game. Even if Adams plays, one more injury could create a catastrophic problem for the position.

The top call-up choice would seem to undrafted rookie Willington Previlon, someone who missed the 53-man roster cut but was quickly re-signed for the practice squad as a piece to develop behind the scenes. The Packers also just this week signed former veteran starter Billy Winn, who hasn’t played a regular-season game since 2016 but has 23 starts since 2012.

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