Packers place Allen Lazard, Christian Kirksey on injured reserve

The Packers have placed Allen Lazard and Christian Kirksey on IR.

The Green Bay Packers have some injury concerns ahead of Monday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Both wide receiver Allen Lazard and linebacker Christian Kirksey were on the injury report and ruled out for this game. The Packers have now announced that both players have been placed on injured reserve.

Under the current rules for the 2020 season, this means both players will have to miss three games before being eligible to return.

Neither move is all that surprising. Lazard was expected to miss time after undergoing core muscle surgery earlier this week. It won’t be a surprise if he needs more time to recover than the minimum of three games he’ll miss, but we’ll see. Hopefully, Lazard will be able to make a quick recovery and be back around midseason.

Kirksey suffered a pectoral injury in last week’s win against the Saints. Ty Summers stepped in and put in a sold performance. With Kirksey out, Summers will likely see a big increase in snaps moving forward.

So, what does all this mean?

For now, the Packers are without two important starters on both sides of the ball.

Lazard was off to a fast start and put up career-best numbers in the victory over the Saints, catching six passes for 146 yards and a score. While Kirksey hadn’t made the same impact on defense, he still played a crucial role at inside linebacker.

The earliest they’ll be able to return is the Packers’ game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field in Week 8. That would give them a total of five weeks before last week’s game and that matchup with the Vikings.

Hopefully, they’ll both be ready to return in Week 8. Until then, the Packers will need Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Summers to fill in.