Packers vs. 49ers: JK Scott added to injury report with illness

The Green Bay Packers could be without punter JK Scott in the NFC Championship Game.

The Green Bay Packers are about as healthy as you could ever wish to be this late in the season, but they could now be without punter JK Scott in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game battle against the San Francisco 49ers.

Scott was added to the injury report on Saturday due to an illness.

If Scott can’t play, the Packers will need to sign another punter. They do have a roster spot available should they need to.

Not only could this have an impact on the punting game, but also field goals. Scott is an excellent holder. On field goals, chemistry and timing between the kicker, holder and snapper is important. Bringing in another punter on such short notice would be a slight concern for the kicking game.

At his best, Scott has been excellent at punting this season. Over the year, he averaged 44 yards per punt. Only four punts resulted in touchbacks, and 29 of his 77 punts were downed inside the 20. His longest punt of the season was 66 yards.

Oddly enough, one of Scott’s worst performances of the season was in Week 12 against the 49ers. That evening, he averaged 37.2 yards per punt with a long of 41. It was the only game in the regular season that he didn’t have a single punt downed inside the 20.

Illness forced right tackle Bryan Bulaga to miss last week’s win against the Seattle Seahawks and has kept a few players out of practice over the past two weeks. It’s unclear whether Scott is dealing with the same illness, but hopefully he’ll be well enough to punt and put in a good performance on Sunday night.

Scott and fullback Danny Vitale are questionable for the game, but the Packers are otherwise healthy and ready to go.