Packers-Chiefs Final Injury Report: Reed, Alexander Take Big Steps

Packers-Chiefs Final Injury Report: Reed, Alexander Take Big Steps

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst on Trading Aaron Rodgers to Jets Maven – Green Bay Packers GREEN BAY, Wis. – Just in time for a primetime matchup against MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander practiced on Friday for a third consecutive day and appears on course to be ready for Sunday night’s showdown. Rookie receiver Jayden Reed, who has emerged as one of the team’s top weapons, practiced for the first time this week, leading to optimism that he’ll be ready for a matchup against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Alexander has played in only five of 11 games this season. He missed the last three games with a shoulder injury sustained while creating an interception against the Chargers. With Mahomes on his way to a sixth consecutive 4,000-yard season – he led the NFL with 5,250 passing yards and 41 touchdowns en route to MVP honors last year – the presence of Alexander can’t be overstated. With a revamped receiver corps, it hasn’t exactly been a typical Mahomes season. His yards per attempt is down a full yard from last year and he’s on pace for a career-worst 14 interceptions. But he is the reigning AFC player of the week after completing a season-best 79.4 percent of his passes for 298 yards and a passer rating of 122.9 in leading the Chiefs back from a 14-0 deficit to beat the Raiders 31-17. If the Packers are going to keep pace with a living-legend quarterback, they’ll have to put up some points against a defense that ranks third in points allowed, third in passing yards per attempt, sixth in yards per play and second in sack percentage. The return of Reed, who has played through a chest injury the past two games, would be a huge boost. “They’ve got a lot of really competitive guys in the secondary,” Reed said. “I see that first and foremost. Those guys play with extreme effort. They get after it. That will be a good challenge for us as a receiver group. I think we’re ready. We’ve prepared for it.” It’s “definitely not” ideal for a rookie to go into a big game with just one practice, but offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich was confident that Reed could contribute. “He’s always been a pretty sharp guy,” Stenavich said. “We’re just going to take it day by day, get him healthy and hopefully he can be out there on Sunday.” Among rookie receivers, Reed is eighth with 36 receptions, seventh with a team-high 497 receiving yards and tied for third with five touchdowns. Reed is first with seven receptions of 30-plus yards and tied for second with six receptions on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. On the other hand, running back Aaron Jones missed the week of practice and appears destined to miss a second consecutive game with a knee injury. He went through warmups with the rest of the team but didn’t have his helmet and stayed inside to work with a trainer while everybody else went out. Fellow running back AJ Dillon practiced for a second consecutive day and will be joined by Patrick Taylor in the backfield. Jones and cornerback Robert Rochell were the only players who did not go out for the start of practice. On Thursday, the Packers had 12 players who did not practice or were limited. The Chiefs had only two; all 53 players practiced. This story will be updated at the completion of practice, when LaFleur reveals the updated injury report.