The Green Bay Packers have at least one key defensive starter trending in the wrong direction with his injury ahead of Week 14’s matchup with Chicago.
According to the team’s injury report, the Packers downgraded safety Javon Bullard — their starter in the slot role — to a non-participant for December 4’s latest practice due to a lingering ankle injury that has bothered him for the past two weeks of practice.
Bullard has played in each of the past two games for the Packers after first popping up on the injury report in Week 12 with his ankle injury, but Thursday marks the first time that he has missed a practice because of it, raising concerns about his Week 14 status.
The Packers may need to reorganize their secondary against the Bears if they are unable to clear Bullard of his injury before kickoff. They do not have a backup nickel defender listed on their official depth chart, but veteran cornerback Keisean Nixon has valuable experience in the slot role and could provide a replacement option, if necessary.
The Packers (8-3-1) will host the Bears (9-3) at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 7.
Losing Javon Bullard Would Hurt Packers’ Run Defense
The Packers don’t need to start panicking about Bullard after just one missed practice, but their run defense would take a meaningful hit if he were unable to suit up against the Bears and their No. 2-ranked rushing offense during Sunday’s showdown.
According to Pro Football Focus, Bullard has 44 solo tackles and 21 defensive stops for the Packers through the first 12 games of the 2025 season, ranking 19th and seventh, respectively, among 110 other qualifying NFL cornerbacks (as the analytics site grades Bullard on his role in the slot and not against the other safeties in the league).
Without Bullard, the Packers would predictably have a tougher time slowing down the Bears’ two-headed rushing attack. Veteran D’Andre Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai each rushed for at least 125 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday, marking the first time Chicago has had two 100-yard rushers since the 1985 season.
Packers Have Loaded Injury Report, But Few ‘DNPs’
Bullard is the only player that the Packers downgraded on their injury report after their second practice of the week, but that report is still awfully lengthy entering Week 14.
The Packers have 18 different players currently listed on their Week 14 injury report, including notable starters such as quarterback Jordan Love (left shoulder), running back Josh Jacobs (knee), right tackle Zach Tom (back), linebackers Quay Walker (neck) and Edgerrin Cooper (shoulder) and veteran cornerback Nate Hobbs (knee).
Encouragingly, though, the Packers had most of their injured players participating in at least a portion of Thursday’s practice, as only four did not practice, including Bullard. The other three were wide receiver Savion Williams (foot), defensive end Lukas Van Ness (foot) and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (ankle), whose injury is season-ending.
Then again, there are still a few Packers who are worth monitoring through the end of the week outside of the “DNPs.” First-round rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden has been limited in each of the first two practices this week, but he has limited participation all last week before the Packers ultimately held him out of Thanksgiving Day’s game.
The Packers also held out Walker under similar circumstances in Week 13, sitting him against the Lions despite his limited participation in every practice of the short week.
The Packers will put out their final Week 14 injury report on Friday, December 5.
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