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In post-workout press on Friday, the Green Bay Packers head coach announced that wide receiver Marquez Valdes Scantling, who injured his hamstring in the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers, has been officially excluded from the team’s Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The tough news continued to roll as LaFleur said cornerback Kevin King (concussion) and temporary left tackle Elgton Jenkins (ankle) were to be listed as questionable heading into the weekend.
LaFleur has opened up about Jenkins’ status, saying he hopes he will be ready for Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals, which doesn’t give much optimism to those who want Jenkins to face the Steelers. If King and Jenkins miss games, like last week, expect rookie Eric Stokes to start on the corner (maybe even if King is in good health) while Yosh Nijman would make his second NFL start in the left tackle.
The Packers then released their full injury report, which also listed safety Vernon Scott (hamstring), inside linebacker Krys Barnes (concussion) and defensive lineman Jack Heflin (ankle) as questionable.
Scott has struggled with his hamstring issue since preseason, making him one of two Packers in the 53-man roster who hasn’t seen the field this regular season. The other is passer La’Darius Hamilton, who was selected by the Buccaneers training team when Za’Darius Smith was placed on the injured reserve list.
Barnes, the Green Bay starting inside linebacker next to De’Vondre Campbell, suffered a concussion in last week’s game but made limited appearances in practice on Thursday and Friday. If Barnes doesn’t play, it’s likely Ty Summers will start in his place with former college safety Oren Burks spinning in the lineup in passing situations.
Heflin, who saw his first regular-season action in the NFL last week as a special team, was a limited participant on Friday after training fully throughout the week.
The Steelers, on the other hand, have received nothing but good news on the injury front. Passers TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith, who missed Week 3, have been cleared of their groin injuries and will play. Wide receivers Diontae Johnson (knee) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (ribs) also got the nod for the game.
Pittsburgh excluded OL Rashaad Coward (ankle), OL Chukwuma Okorafor (concussion) and DT Carlos Davis (knee) for their trip to Green Bay. While Coward and Davis haven’t contributed to the Steelers this season, Okorafor started Pittsburgh’s first three games of the season on a straight tackle, meaning Joe Haeg will likely step in as a replacement bookend. The only Steeler listed as questionable or questionable for the game is wide receiver Chase Claypool, who suffers from a hamstring injury that limited participation in Thursday’s practice and kept him from training on Friday.
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