Matt Nagy gets heat from a lot of people for flat out refusing to play any of his key starters this preseason. Something that took root in 2018 and was only reinforced after both Adam Shaheen and Leonard Floyd endured injuries that set back their entire seasons. This time around he was not taking any chances. Mitch Trubisky? Khalil Mack? Eddie Jackson? Kyle Fuller? Akiem Hicks? None of these guys have taken a single snap in August. The Green Bay Packers must now be wondering if they should’ve done the same.
Less than two weeks now remain until the two teams lock horns on opening night this 2019 season. The Packers lost at Soldier Field last year to see their playoff hopes crushed and were hoping to get a measure of revenge. Those plans may have just taken a major blow. During their preseason outing against the Oakland Raiders up in Winnipeg, Canada, they suffered two potentially key injuries.
One was to wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who apparently broke his ankle.
St. Brown caught 21 passes for 358 yards last season as a rookie. Expectations were high that he’d take a big step forward this year. The far more concerning injury though was to 1st round pick Rashan Gary who was carted off with an undisclosed ailment during the game. Observations were that it appeared to be a head or neck injury of some kind.
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Green Bay Packers better hope Aaron Rodgers has his old magic
It’s hard not to feel like these are a couple of tough blows for Green Bay. No doubt Gary and St. Brown were counted on to be big contributors early this season. St. Brown could be out for months and there’s no telling how severe Gary’s issue may be. This merely makes the Packers’ job harder. They’ll be going into a hostile stadium against an opponent that will be at full strength with Nagy refusing to play anybody of consequence including their top pick, David Montgomery.
Green Bay still has Aaron Rodgers and that counts for a lot. Still, with him trying to master a brand new offense this doesn’t feel like the sort of game they’ll be favored like they typically are. Chicago, on paper, has the deeper and more talented football team. The Packers will need Rodgers to have one of his trademark big games to pull it off.
