Packers’ Top Defensive Coach Likely Out for Cardinals Matchup

The Green Bay Packers will most likely have to face their next challenge without their top defensive coach on the sidelines.

According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, October 25, and is now expected to miss their Week 8 road matchup with the Arizona Cardinals for Thursday Night Football. He added, though, that Barry will still participate virtually in the team’s planning for the week.

“We are in advanced protocols right now,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters later on Monday. “All of our coaches’ meetings are virtual today, and then we’ve got to test again tomorrow. Everyone has got to be masked up in the building, whether you’re vaccinated or not.”

The Packers have not yet announced which of their defensive coaches will step up to handle Barry’s responsibilities against the Cardinals, but they do have a little experience in shifting around their defensive coaching staff this season. Defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery was also forced to miss a game due to the league’s COVID protocols in Week 2, prompting the team to redistribute his duties among Wendel Davis (defensive quality control), Kirk Olivadotti (inside linebackers) and Mike Smith (outside linebackers) for their matchup with the Detroit Lions.

The Packers’ entire coaching staff is vaccinated under the NFL’s guidelines for the 2021 season, which state that everyone who is either a Tier 1 (coaches and trainers) and a Tier 2 (general managers, assistant coaches, football operations staff, etc.) employee “should be expected to be vaccinated unless they have a bona fide medical or religious ground for not doing so.”

Fortunately, Barry’s vaccination status means that he could potentially return in time to lead the defense against the unbeaten Cardinals. He would need to return two negative COVID tests 24 hours apart and show no symptoms in order to be cleared for action.

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Will Defense Get Some Injury Relief in Week 8?

While the Packers are not likely to have Barry on the sideline for Thursday Night Football, there is a chance some of their injured defensive contributors could return to the fold against the Cardinals. Here’s a breakdown of which Packers defenders are still recovering from an injury and what their outlooks are for Week 8’s road game:

Preston Smith, OLB: The veteran pass rusher seems like the most likely candidate to return in Week 8 for the Packers defense after participating in last week’s final practice and being deemed a game-time decision against Washington with an oblique injury. LaFleur told reporters in Sunday’s postgame that part of the reason why they chose not to play Smith was their upcoming short week, which suggests he could be cleared from the injury report ahead of their prime-time matchup in Arizona. The most important thing now is seeing whether Smith continues to practice before the final injury report is released on Wednesday, October 27.

Kevin King, CB: While less has been said about King’s shoulder injury, the veteran cornerback would seem to have a solid chance of returning as well in Week 8. The injury knocked him out in the fourth quarter of the Packers’ win over Chicago on October 17, but he was a limited participant in all three practices ahead of the Washington game and was given a “questionable” designation. If the Packers also took the short week into account with King, it stands to reason he could be back in time to play this week, too.

Jaire Alexander, CB: The Packers have kept Alexander’s situation mostly under wraps since placing him on injured reserve with a shoulder injury on October 9, taking time to assess his recovery before making a final decision on whether he needs surgery. While there have been no updates on that front, though, Alexander wouldn’t be eligible to return against the Cardinals even if he was recovered. Players put on IR are required to miss a minimum of three weeks before returning to practice. The end of Alexander’s three-week period will not come until two days after facing Arizona on October 30.

Za’Darius Smith, OLB: The Packers have shared virtually no updates on their All-Pro pass rusher since placing him on injured reserve on September 17. According to Garafolo, Smith underwent back surgery shortly after going on IR and has been expected to miss “an extended period of time” for the team, but it is unclear how long that could be. There is some speculation that Smith might not return at all during the 2021 season, which could mark the end of his tenure in Green Bay given his exorbitant cap charge for the final year of his contract in 2022.