Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed has returned to Green Bay.
Reed remained in a New Jersey hospital after suffering a neck injury in Sunday’s overtime win over the Jets. Head coach Matt LaFleur said that Reed is still undergoing tests on the injury and that conversations about whether he’ll play again this season will have to wait.
“It’s way too early for that right now. . . . He’s got a lot going on,” LaFleur said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.
Reed missed 10 games with injuries last season and signed a three-year contract extension this offseason.
Reed was injured on the Packers’ second offensive play of the game and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele was carted off on the next play. Bako-Bewele said on Tuesday that he will miss the rest of the year with a torn patellar tendon.
Packers Clips
The Packers added another offensive lineman to their injury list on Tuesday.
Offensive tackle Anthony Belton was added to their injury report and listed as a limited participant in practice due to an elbow injury. The Packers only held a walkthrough, so the level of work is an estimation.
Belton’s addition comes after right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele announced he’ll miss the rest of the season with a torn patellar tendon. Left guard Aaron Banks (toe) was also a non-participant in practice Tuesday and backup lineman Donovan Jennings (hand) was a limited participant.
Wide receiver Jayden Reed remained out of practice. Reed was carted off on Sunday with what’s alternately been described as a back and neck injury and the Packers list it as a neck injury.
Defensive tackle Warren Brinson (calf) was the only other Packer out of practice. Defensive tackle Anthony Campbell (ankle), cornerback Brandon Cisse (teeth), linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (shoulder), and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (knee, concussion) were listed as limited. Wide receiver Bo Melton (neck) and cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (hamstring) were full participants.
Tua Tagovailoa won’t be starting for the Falcons on Thursday night, but he could suit up for the first time this season.
The Falcons listed Tagovailoa as a full participant in practice on Tuesday for the first time since he suffered an oblique injury during a practice ahead of Week 1. The Falcons already announced that Michael Penix will make his 2026 debut as their starter against the Packers this week and Tagovailoa could be their backup ahead of Cooper Rush and Jack Strand.
Rush started the first two games and Strand replaced him in the second half of Atlanta’s Week 2 loss to the Panthers.
Defensive end Samson Ebukam (hamstring) was the only player listed as out of practice Tuesday. The Falcons also put cornerback A.J. Terrell (groin) on injured reserve earlier in the day.
Cornerback Billy Bowman (Achilles), tight end Nick Muse (shoulder), right tackle Jawaan Taylor (rib), defensive end Brandon Dorlus (thumb), running back Brian Robinson (ankle), and defensive lineman LaCale London (hip) were listed as full participants.
The Packers will need a new right tackle for the rest of the 2026 season.
Zach Bako-Bewele told reporters on Tuesday that he suffered a torn patellar tendon in Sunday’s overtime win over the Jets. Bako-Bewele was carted off the field after getting hurt on Green Bay’s third offensive play.
Bako-Bewele suffered a partial tear of the same tendon last December and said that he has been told he has a nine-month recovery timeline from his current injury.
Anthony Belton replaced Bako-Bewele against the Jets and the team also had left guard Aaron Banks leave the game with a toe injury, so they may have two new starters up front against the Falcons on Thursday night.
The NFL has adopted a new procedure when it comes to five key safety rules. And the first wave of fines under those rules are working their way through the internal process.
For Week 1, three players were fined for violating the five rules that will result, after three fines, in a one-game suspension. Per the NFL Players Association, each of them has appealed their fine.
The fines were imposed on Bills defensive back Sam Franklin ($9,425 for a blindside block), Packers defensive back Evan Williams ($7,087 for a hit on a defenseless player), and Dolphins cornerback Chris Johnson ($17,911 for a hip-drop tackle).
The appeals have two practical impacts. First, if unsuccessful, it counts as the first strike toward a suspension, if two more violations of the same rule occur. Second, each player is eligible for a 50-percent rebate if they go through the season without another violation of that same rule.
The five rules that utilize the three-strike process are blindside block, hit on a defenseless player, hip-drop tackle, horse-collar tackle, and launching.
The appeal process should be expedited, frankly. The players should know before each game where they stand in relation to a potential suspension. From the league’s perspective, the uncertainty is helpful; it will prompt players to be more careful given the unresolved appeal.
The NFL publishes information on the various fines every Saturday afternoon. The league does not release the results of the appeals. Ideally, the NFL or the NFLPA (or both) will provide that information, so that the media (and, in turn, the fans) will know which players are facing a potential suspension.
As the NFL has changed its overtime rules, one of the league’s priorities was de-emphasizing the coin toss. Sudden death overtime fell out of favor largely because of the big advantage it gave to the team winning the toss, and the NFL wanted an overtime format that wouldn’t make winning the coin toss important.
This year, it seems to be working.
There have been three overtime games this season, and all three times, the team that won the overtime coin toss lost the game.
In Week 1, the Saints won the toss and chose to kick. The Lions scored a touchdown and extra point on the first possession, and the Saints then scored a touchdown on the second possession. The Saints went for two, didn’t convert, and lost 31-30.
In Week 2, the Jets won the toss and chose to receive. Jets coach Aaron Glenn said he wanted to control the clock, but that didn’t happen: The Jets went three-and-out on the first possession, and the Packers quickly moved into field goal range and won 20-17.
And on Sunday night in Week 2, the Colts won the toss and, despite having a captain who didn’t know the overtime rule, eventually got their choice to kick. Colts coach Shane Steichen said he wanted to kick because he didn’t want to give Patrick Mahomes four downs on the second possession. As it turned out, the Chiefs got a field goal on the first possession, the Colts tied with their own field goal on the second possession, and the Chiefs won 33-30 with another field goal on their third possession.
The current overtime format was adopted last season, and there’s still no consensus among coaches about whether it’s better to kick or receive — as demonstrated by Glenn making a different decision than Steichen and Moore. As long as that’s the case, winning the coin toss doesn’t matter very much. And that’s as it should be.
The Falcons’ quarterback carousel has finally landed on their first-round draft pick from 2024.
The team has announced that Michael Penix Jr. will start in Thursday night’s game against the Packers at Lambeau Field.
Penix suffered a torn ACL in November 2025. He fully participated in practice before both regular-season games, but he was not ready to play.
Some would say that, if he’s going to be ready to play on Thursday, he could have played on Sunday against the Panthers.
Instead, it was Cooper Rush. Rush was removed in the third quarter for undrafted rookie Jack Strand. In combination, they threw three interceptions and generated a passer rating of 28.8.
And so it will be Penix time for the 0-2 Falcons, whose next three games are scheduled to be played in prime time.
Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed remains in New Jersey after being taken to a hospital following an injury in Sunday’s overtime win over the Jets.
Reed was placed on a backboard and carted off the field on the second play of the game after catching a four-yard pass from Jordan Love and taking a big hit from Jets linebacker Demario Davis. Reed was ruled out with what the team called a neck injury and head coach Matt LaFleur said after the game that Reed had movement in all of his extremities.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that doctors determined Reed suffered a back injury and he is expected to return to Green Bay soon. The wideout and medical personnel are still evaluating the best course of treatment moving forward.
Reed signed a three-year extension with the Packers this offseason. He had three catches for 20 yards in the first week of the season and missed 10 games last year after injuring his clavicle and foot last September.
Michael Penix Jr.? Tua Tagovailoa? Cooper Rush? Jack Strand?
Who will be the Falcons’ starting quarterback on Thursday night when Atlanta plays Green Bay?
“I don’t have an update right this minute,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said in his Monday video conference. “I have a decent idea of where we’re going, but I’ve not yet talked to the players yet. We have meetings later today. I’ll update you guys when appropriate on that. But, bottom line is, we’ve got to continue to put our plan together on offense, defense, and special teams, and find a way Thursday night in Green Bay.”
It’s been an ugly start to the season for Atlanta’s offense. With Tagovailoa suffering an oblique injury during practice leading up to the season opener, Rush has started the first two games. But he played so poorly and Sunday’s loss to the Panthers was so out of hand that Strand — an undrafted rookie — made his first appearance in the second half yesterday.
Penix has been getting closer, with some reports indicating he could be available for Thursday night. But even without making the QB1 announcement, Stefanski declined to get into specifics when it comes to Penix.
“I talk to Mike every day and, like I’ve told you guys, I’m very confident in our discussions with Mike, with medical throughout this entire process,” Stefanski said. “So it’s not news to say I talked to Mike yesterday, I’ll talk to Mike today. But anything past that, I don’t have an update, per se.”
As for Tagovailoa, Stefanski said he’s getting better.
“We’ll work through what that means for this week, but definitely getting better,” Stefanski said.
And what about Strand? He was 8-of-15 for 59 yards with an interception in his first NFL action.
“Like I’ve mentioned before, I’m very excited about Jack’s development and the work that he’s putting in in this building, constantly, is impressive,” Stefanski said. “To see where he’s come from, from Day 1 until now, I’m really proud of him. And he’ll continue to work. He’ll be better for the reps he got yesterday, but he also recognizes there’s a ton of work to do.”
Stefanski indicated that the Falcons could make an announcement about their starting quarterback as soon as later on Monday, after he’s addressed the team.
Either way, kickoff is slated for Thursday night at 8:15 p.m. ET at Lambeau Field.
Heading into the season, the Vikings were a distant fourth in the betting odds to win the NFC North. A lot can change in two weeks.
The Vikings are now 2-0, with both wins coming against division opponents, a game ahead of the Lions, Packers and Bears, and the new betting favorites to win the division.
The Vikings’ odds are +194 to win what looks to be the NFL’s most competitive division. The Lions are next at +205, followed by the Packers at +285. Last year’s NFC North winners, the Bears, not have the longest odds, at +500, amid concerns that Caleb Williams could miss extended time with a hamstring injury.
Uncertainty at quarterback in Minnesota is an issue, but the Vikings have found a way to win two weeks in a row with Carson Wentz replacing the injured Kyler Murray. The Vikings’ defense looks ferocious, and the Vikings look like a playoff team. Something few thought they’d be just a couple weeks ago.
