Packers first-round pick Rashan Gary returns to practice

There’s good news for the Green Bay Packers, as first-round pick Rashan Gary is back at practice.

There was some concern when Rashan Gary left last week’s game against the Oakland Raiders due to injury. The injury looked serious initially, and he was carted to the locker room.

His agent tweeted following the game that he was “fine and doing well”. And now there’s even better news. According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Gary returned to practice on Monday after not practicing on Sunday.

That’s a great sign that Gary’s injury wasn’t too serious. While it’s unlikely the Packers will want to risk injury by playing him in the final game of the preseason against the Chiefs on Thursday night, we can assume his return to practice means he’ll be ready to go in the regular season opener at Chicago next week.

Gary was one of the Packers’ most important offseason additions. Even if he doesn’t begin the season as a starter, his ability to play at multiple positions in the defensive front will make him so valuable to defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.

Gary was one of three players for the Packers who exited last week’s preseason game due to injury.

Wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown went down with a scary looking ankle injury. It’s since been reported it’s a high-ankle sprain which could sideline him four-to-six weeks. Inside linebacker Curtis Bolton has a knee injury, but it’s not yet been reported how much time he’s expected to miss.

Demovsky also noted that left tackle David Bakhtiari returned to practice on Monday, which is also good news. The Packers need Bakhtiari to be fully healthy this season, especially in next week’s season opener up against a dominant Bears defense.

Hopefully, the Packers will be at close to 100 percent when they visit Soldier Field next week. Having Gary on the field will be good news for the defense.