The Green Bay Packers will have a few holes in their starting offensive line when they face off against the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football.
The Packers have announced that neither right tackle Zach Tom (oblique) nor left guard Aaron Banks (ankle/groin) will suit up for them against the Commanders in prime time after both starters missed the entire week of practice ahead of Week 2’s home game.
Without Banks or Tom, the Packers are expected to start 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan at left guard and Darian Kinnard — an August trade acquisition — at right tackle against the Commanders. Each player will make his second career NFL start.
Fortunately, veteran cornerback Nate Hobbs has been cleared to make his debut for the Packers on Thursday night after he missed the season opener with a knee injury.
The Packers’ inactive list also included the following players: cornerback Bo Melton, defensive lineman Brenton Cox Jr. (placed on IR before kickoff), safety Zayne Anderson, tight end Ben Sims and defensive tackle Warren Brinson.
Packers Favored Slightly Over Commanders for TNF
The Packers have raised their prestige twice over the past few weeks, first with the trade acquisition of superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons and then again when they toppled the Detroit Lions — the two-time reigning NFC North champions — in Week 1’s game.
Even still, the Packers are only slight favorites over the Commanders in the eyes of the oddsmakers, sitting as 3.5-point favorites heading into Thursday’s prime-time game, according to both FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is also 48.5 points, indicating expectations for a reasonably high-scoring matchup.
The Packers suffered a 23-21 road defeat at the hands of the Commanders when they last met during the 2022 season, but Green Bay has won two of three games against Washington under head coach Matt LaFleur and is 22-17-1 in the all-time series.
Packers Elevate OT Brant Banks to Reinforce O-Line
Hours before kickoff, the Packers also made two roster moves to reinforce their roster.
According to the team’s transaction wire, the Packers elevated UDFA rookie offensive tackle Brant Banks and seventh-round rookie cornerback Micah Robinson from their practice squad to their game-day roster for tonight’s game against the Commanders.
Neither Banks nor Robinson has played their first career regular-season snap. While the Packers elevated Robinson to their game-day roster in Week 1, he was one of two active players who did not play against the Lions along with quarterback Malik Willis.
The Packers can only elevate Robinson once more from their practice squad after Week 2. After his third elevation, they would need to sign him to their 53-man roster to play.
The Packers also placed Cox — whom they ruled out in advance with a groin injury — on the injured reserve list, effectively shutting him down for at least the next four games.
Packers Limited Practice to Walkthroughs for Week 2
The Packers had a quick turnaround from last Sunday’s win over the Lions, but they did not take any unnecessary chances with their players in practice ahead of Week 2’s game.
As LaFleur said earlier in the week, the Packers opted for walkthroughs and mental reps in the classroom instead of full-padded practices ahead of the Commanders matchup.
“Just trying to get them the plan as quickly as possible to allow them — I mean, there’s a lot of information going at them,” LaFleur said Tuesday. “That’s always the challenge, right? On a Thursday night game? So we try to get them the information as quickly as possible and give them time to digest it, to go through it, to get to the detail.
“So, our guys did a nice job today locking in.”
The Packers’ injury list might have also influenced their decision. While the team only slapped injury designations on seven players before Thursday’s kickoff, they had listed 14 players on the report throughout the week. Taking it easy in the week of practice may have helped them clear some players, such as linebacker Quay Walker (quadriceps).
Micah Parsons Can Help Packers Contain Jayden Daniels
The Commanders glided to a 21-6 victory in their first game of the 2025 season, partly because the New York Giants could not contain Pro Bowl quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Daniels completed 19-of-30 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown and rushed 11 times for 68 yards against the Giants, scrambling for first downs on two separate third-down plays. While the Giants sacked him three times in the game, he also evaded much of the pressure they generated against him, using his athleticism to get free and make a play.
To avoid the same fate, the Packers must do a better job at corralling Daniels when they clash on Thursday night, and Parsons — who is active despite a back injury that had him ruled questionable on the injury report — can be the driving force in them doing so.
Parsons played just 45% of defensive snaps (30) against the Lions in the opening week, but he generated three pressures across those snaps that each resulted in an impactful play for Green Bay, including the one he recorded in the fourth quarter when he seemed to fire out of a cannon and race down quarterback Jared Goff for his first Packers sack.
If Parsons can play more snaps against the Commanders and replicate his success from Week 1, the Packers should have an easier time keeping Daniels in check tonight.
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