The Green Bay Packers rushing offense has not been good in the early going of the season. They have struggled mightily when it comes to run blocking, ranking 26th in the NFL with a PFF grade of 51.7.
But, arguably the biggest reason they haven’t been productive on the ground has been the absence of Aaron Jones. The star running back dominated the Chicago Bears in Week 1, gaining 127 total yards on 11 touches with two touchdowns, but we haven’t seen him on the field since.
At the end of his catch-and-run touchdown reception, Jones was seen grabbing at his hamstring. While he was all smiles on the sidelines after and walked off the field okay, the injury ended up being a decently severe one.
He has not been able to get on the field in the previous two games, missing Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons and Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints. However, the Packers are cautiously optimistic that Jones will be back on the field for Week 4.
“We’ll see how he’s feeling tomorrow, but cautiously optimistic,” LaFleur said Tuesday.
Jones got in some practice time last week on a limited basis. He was close to being able to play against the Saints, but he wasn’t quite where the team needed him to be.
“I don’t want to sacrifice one game for a longer period of time,” LaFleur said. “Until he’s cleared…we all want him out there, we know how valuable he is to our football team in so many aspects, but we want to make sure he’s able to protect himself and not be at further risk of injury.”
Holding him out one more game could have also been a look-ahead strategy by the Packers. Their Week 4 game is on Thursday Night Football against the Detroit Lions.
Had Jones played on Sunday against the Saints not at 100 percent, there is certainly a chance he wouldn’t have been able to suit up on short rest in Week 4. As LaFleur stated, they aren’t going to push it for one game and jeopardize his long-term availability.
The mini-bye week that the Packers will have heading into Week 5 will do them some good. Along with Jones, the team has been without wide receiver Christian Watson, who is expecting to make his season debut in Week 4. Left tackle David Bakhtiari and left guard Elgton Jenkins are also dealing with knee injuries.
