It isn't a stretch to say that injuries are part of football. In fact, many players will tell you that you are never fully healthy after the first day of training camp, if you were healthy at that point. To borrow a quote from The Hunger Games, when it comes to managing injuries, "May the odds be ever in your favor."
The 2025 season has not been kind, injury-wise, to the Green Bay Packers. The offensive line has been banged up all season, when Aaron Banks and Zach Tom both were forced to miss time in Week 1 against Detroit. Both have been battling injuries throughout the season, and the Packers have likely lost starting center Elgton Jenkins for the rest of the season.
This has been further compounded by the loss of Tucker Kraft and Jayden Reed as pass catchers for Jordan Love, with Reed going down early in Week 2, and Kraft being lost for the season in the loss to Carolina. Adding to the offensive injury woes was missing Christian Watson for the beginning of the season, and Matthew Golden for the Philadelphia game.
Defensively, things have fared a bit better, with Lukas Van Ness, Devonte Wyatt, and Nate Hobbs being among the only notable options to have missed time through the midway point of the season. That all said, things may finally be trending in the Packers' favor when it comes to injury news.
Key players Trending Towards Playing vs. Vikings
While Jayden Reed and MarShawn Lloyd appear to be close to returning, neither seems ready quite yet. Reed did return to practice on Friday. The good news for Green Bay is that Josh Jacobs and Lukas Van Ness are trending towards being available for Sunday.
Jacobs was forced to make an early exit last weekend after a bone bruise limited his range of motion, thanks to the hard surface at MetLife Stadium. Van Ness, on the other hand, has been out since playing in Green Bay's Week 6 win over the Bengals.
Having both available will be incredibly important ahead of this crucial stretch of schedule. The Packers have three straight games against NFC North opponents, with Minnesota this weekend, and then a short week ahead of a Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Lions. Green Bay returns home to play the currently division-leading Bears the following week.
Jayden Reed's 21-day window to return officially opened on Friday, as reported by The Athletic's Matt Schneidman.
Another weapon to be available for Jordan Love to begin Toyotathon is only good news for the Packers.