Getty Packers head coach Matt LaFleur will take one fewer running back with him into wild-card weekend.
Despite the uncertainty about AJ Dillon‘s status for the wild-card round, the Green Bay Packers are releasing veteran running back Kenyan Drake from their practice squad and narrowing their replacement options for Sunday.
According to the team’s official transaction wire for January 12, the Packers released the 29-year-old Drake on Friday and re-signed veteran cornerback David Long Jr. in a corresponding roster move that filled his spot on the 16-man practice-squad roster.
The Packers signed Drake to their practice squad in early December and elevated him to the game-day roster in Weeks 14 and 15 while Aaron Jones was nursing a knee injury. In two games, though, Drake carried the ball once for no gain and played just a single snap before fading into the background behind Jones, Dillon and Patrick Taylor.
Drake’s release could be a sign the Packers are comfortable re-inserting rookie Emanuel Wilson back into the rotation. They activated him off injured reserve ahead of Week 18’s regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears, but he did not carry the ball once in the 17-9 victory. With another week under his belt, though, perhaps the Packers feel comfortable with a trio of Jones, Taylor and Wilson if Dillon is unable to play.
Dillon is “doubtful” in the Packers’ final injury report for Sunday’s wild-card matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Packers List 2 Other Players as Questionable to Play
In other Packers news, the team also listed two other players with injury designations for their matchup with the Cowboys: Wide receiver Christian Watson (hamstring) and cornerback Jaire Alexander (shoulder/ankle) are both questionable to play on Sunday.
Watson has not played since Week 13’s win over Kansas City, but head coach Matt LaFleur sounded more encouraged about his chances of playing against the Cowboys than he was about his chances against the Bears last week. LaFleur even admitted he played gamesmanship with Watson’s status in Week 18, listing him as questionable but feeling all along that they would not have him available for the game.
This time around, though, LaFleur believes Watson is further along in his recovery.
“We’ll see on Christian,” LaFleur told reporters on Friday. “A lot of it is going to be on how he feels, and where we’re at with him.”
Meanwhile, LaFleur classified Alexander as a true “game-time decision” heading into the weekend. The two-time All-Pro cornerback rolled his ankle during the team’s jog-through practice on Wednesday and sat out the following two practices to recover, but it is unclear how good his chances are of playing against the Cowboys on Sunday.
Can Aaron Jones Continue Dominance in Playoffs?
The Packers might be shorthanded without Dillon, but there is no denying that Jones has been a driving force for their offense since he returned from injury in December.
Over the final three games of the 2023 season, Jones looked more like the playmaker the Packers planned on having throughout the year. He rushed 63 times for a combined 358 yards with at least 100 yards in each of the three contests. He also caught seven of his nine targets in the passing game, putting up a 5-for-5 performance against Chicago in the regular-season finale that punched Green Bay’s ticket to the playoffs.
Now, the question is can Jones sustain his high-level play during the playoffs?
The San Francisco 49ers found Jones difficult to contain during his last appearance in the playoffs. While he gained just 41 yards on 12 games on the ground, he caught nine of his 10 passes for 129 yards in the 13-10 loss. The Packers will probably seek to run him more than 12 times against the Cowboys on Sunday, but his reputation as a reliable safety-value option in the passing game could be a great asset to Jordan Love.