Malik

Willis

Willis will be active for backup duties against the Eagles this week. The Packers’ No. 2 QB practiced in full on both Thursday and Friday, assuaging concerns over his injured thumb.

Willis and Jordan Love (elbow) both practiced in full today, which is the good news this team needed after leaving Week 18 fairly banged up. Love should be good to go, barring a setback, but Willis appears to be ready to step in if need be.

Both Packers quarterbacks are evidently nursing throwing-arm injuries. Jordan Love (elbow) and Willis should be considered likely to play, given their early-week practice participation but this is officially a situation to monitor closely.

Friday marks a second-straight day of practice for Love, who continues to increase his chances of playing in Week 9 against the Lions. We’ll see what the team officially lists him as when its final injury report is released in a few hours, but at worst, we’d expect Love to be listed as questionable with a good shot at playing on Sunday barring any setbacks.

Love tweaked his groin in the Packers’ Week 8 win over the Jaguars and did not practice on Wednesday. With his injury not considered serious, the Packers’ QB1 isn’t ready to rule himself out for Week 9’s matchup against the Lions. However, that decision will ultimately come down to the doctors and coaching staff. There’s plenty of incentive to sit Love with the Packers coming up on their Week 10 bye. He could have two full weeks of rest and return in Week 11 primed for a playoff push, but him suiting up in Week 9 gives the team a chance to gain ground on the 6-1 Lions in a tight NFC North race. We’ll see how things go for Love throughout the remainder of the week. It wouldn’t be surprising if the team let him test his groin in pre-game warmups before deciding on his Week 9 availability, but he may need to log at least one practice for that to become an option.

Love is dealing with a groin strain. He came up limping early in the Packers’ Week 8 win over the Jags but didn’t exit until being shoved to the ground in the third quarter. Love did not return. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Love is “determined to play” this week. Malik Willis will draw the start if he can’t go. Willis successfully led a low-volume passing attack to two wins earlier this year, so it could make sense for the Packers to sit Love for a week and let Willis make his third start.

Rapoport said an MRI on Love’s injured groin did not reveal a long-term injury. Love, Rapoport, said, would not have to be 100 percent recovered to suit up for an important Week 9 game against division rival Detroit. If Love is able to practice by Friday, he should be good to go against the Lions. If not, Malik Willis — who has been excellent as the backup for the oft-injured Love — would get another start.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero added that Love will be “day to day” and that Love “has a shot to play” in Week 9 against the Lions. Love will receive treatment for his injury throughout the week and will likely have a light week of practice in hopes of being available come Sunday. If he’s unable to play, we can expect Malik Willis to make the start for the Packers in the NFC North showdown.

It’s still early, but the Packers have Week 9’s game against the Lions, followed by a Week 10 bye. The extra time off would give Love a little more than two weeks to recover in time for the team’s second-half push into the postseason, and Malik Willis has been solid in his relief of Love thus far. This situation will be one to monitor all week, but it would not be surprising if Love was held out of next week’s contest.

Jordan Love was limping around with a knee issue before tweaking his groin in the third quarter. That got Willis into the game, and the ex-Titan continued to look like a different player in Green Bay than he was in Nashville as he guided the Pack to a narrow road victory. The vast majority of Willis’ yardage came on one Jayden Reed catch-and-run, but Willis continued to avoid the mistakes that plagued him with the Titans, and used his legs as a chain-mover. The Lions will be a daunting Week 9 assignment if Love sits ahead of the Packers’ bye, but Willis’ dual-threat would give him streamer juice in a likely high-scoring contest.