It's not the preseason with 90-man rosters, and the Green Bay Packers couldn't rest everyone in Week 18, but the decision to play Javon Bullard late into the fourth quarter has come back to haunt them in the worst way.
Bullard, who has been a vital starter in a breakout second season with the Packers, had to exit the game with a knee injury in the fourth quarter.
Reports indicate he was trying to stretch it out on the sideline, which hopefully suggests it's not a serious injury, but the Packers can't afford to lose Bullard ahead of their playoff opener next week.
Packers' Javon Bullard suffers a completely avoidable injury in Week 18 vs. Vikings
Bullard has enjoyed an excellent second season as the Packers' slot corner, while also spending some time at safety when needed. Green Bay is already likely to be without Nate Hobbs in the NFC Wild Card Round. If Bullard is unable to go, the team may be forced to start Keisean Nixon in the slot.
Again, hopefully Bullard avoided a significant injury, but the fact he was even still out there is frustrating.
"Bullard is out of the injury tent and has his helmet in hand. Can't imagine they'd put him back in there, though. Probably shouldn't have been in there in the first place," ESPN's Rob Demovsky reports.
And that's the key point. He shouldn't have even been in the game.
It's impossible to rest everyone, of course. The Packers have a 53-man roster and two practice-squad callups, which means some starters had to be active. But that still doesn't excuse keeping Bullard in the game late in the fourth quarter. He's far too important to this defense.
Green Bay has faced a brutal run of injuries on both sides of the ball, so hopefully there's good news on Bullard. We don't yet know which day the Packers will play in the first round, but there's a possibility of a short week if they are put into a Saturday game.
The Packers seemed to leave this game without too many injury concerns, which was the top priority, but they must now hope for good news on Bullard.