Packers activate Christian Kirksey, Allen Lazard not ready yet

The Packers will get Christian Kirksey back in Week 10.

The Green Bay Packers will be getting inside linebacker Christian Kirksey back from injured reserve on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but wide receiver Allen Lazard isn’t quite ready yet.

The Packers announced on Saturday that they have activated Kirksey from injured reserve, which means he’s ready to go. They didn’t activate Lazard, which means we’ll have to wait until next week.

The good news is that Lazard is close to returning. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported on Friday that it seemed the Packers were going to be cautious this week as Lazard was still dealing with soreness. However, Rapoport did add that if Lazard doesn’t play Sunday, “expect him back next week”.

So the Packers will likely get Lazard back at a great time ahead of a matchup with a strong Indianapolis Colts defense.

In the meantime, Kirksey’s return will be a welcomed one for the Packers defense. They were thin at inside linebacker last week with Kamal Martin on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but they’ll now have both of them back out there against the Jaguars.

It’s the most depth Green Bay has had at the position all season, now that Kirksey, Martin, Krys Barnes, and Ty Summers are all healthy. It’ll be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Mike Pettine distributes the snaps between them.

Along with activating Kirksey from IR, the Packers also announced that they have elevated cornerbacks KeiVarae Russell and Stanford Samuels from the practice squad. That likely tells us all we need to know about the status of Jaire Alexander and Kevin King ahead of tomorrow’s game. Alexander is doubtful to play due to a concussion, King is questionable with a quad injury.

But the good news is that Kirksey is ready to go and Lazard should only be a week away from making his return.