One of the reasons that the Green Bay Packers fell to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 of the 2017 NFL season was because injuries hit the team. Jordy Nelson left without catching a single pass, taking away one of Aaron Rodgers top weapons and he never returned in the game. However, as the Packers practice and prepare for their Week 3 contest with the Cincinnati Bengals, Nelson has returned and CBS Sports indicates that he plans to play on Sunday.
The question is whether he should or not.
Jordy Nelson’s injury
Before Jordy Nelson returned to practice, the Green Bay Packers said that he was a 50-50 chance to play in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
With the Bengals a historically tough team, there were concerns about Nelson not playing since Randall Cobb is also hurt and questionable to play this weekend. With two of their top receivers out of action, Aaron Rodgers has limited weapons against the Bengals tough defense.
However, the Cincinnati Bengals offense is a mess. They just fired their offensive coordinator and there is almost no chance they have the firepower to keep up with the Packers, even if Nelson and Cobb both sit out.
However, it looks like Jordy Nelson will play. Nelson said that he feels better now than he did on Sunday night after the injury and that he is headed in the right direction. The wide receiver said that his expectation is that he will play on Sunday but that anything could happen between now and then.
The walking injured
Randall Cobb has a chest injury and his return is up in the air. He is one of 13 players that was listed on the Green Bay Packers injury report heading into the week. As of Thursday, Cobb had not returned to practice. While his injury was not seen as major, missing practice all week is not encouraging for his return.
Other injuries came on defense as well, with Mike Daniels and Nick Perry falling to injuries. Unlike the players on the offensive side of the ball, neither Perry nor Daniels will play this weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Green Bay Packers announced that Perry will undergo hand surgery while Daniels will sit out the Bengals game with a hip injury.
All in all, the Green Bay Packers are favored to beat the Cincinnati Bengals by over a touchdown. Aaron Rodgers can use a plethora of weapons on offense, including running back Ty Montgomery and right end Martellus Bennett and the defense is facing a Bengals offense under new leadership. With the Chicago Bears up next, the Packers have a chance to let their players get completely healthy before the Dallas Cowboys game and should possibly rest their starters now rather than lose them for a longer period of time.
