Packers Clips
Michael Penix isn’t the only Falcon making his season debut tonight.
Falcons cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. is active for Thursday Night Football. The team listed him as questionable with the Achilles injury that ended his 2025 season in a Week 12 practice.
The Falcons need Bowman this week with starting corner A.J. Terrell Jr. landing on injured reserve with a groin injury.
The team’s other inactives are quarterback Cooper Rush, quarterback Jack Strand, defensive back Malcolm DeWalt IV, defensive back Robert Longerbeam, defensive end Samson Ebukam (hamstring) and offensive lineman Ethan Onianwa.
The Packers’ inactives are wide receiver Jayden Reed (neck), offensive tackle Zach Bako-Bewele (knee), offensive guard Aaron Banks (knee/toe), defensive tackle Warren Brinson (calf) and defensive tackle Anthony Campbell (ankle).
Nose tackle Javon Hargrave (knee/concussion) is active after three limited practices and a questionable designation.
The NFL wants to see the key video in the Josh Jacobs case. It possibly will.
Via Rob Demovsky of ESPN, the judge presiding over the criminal case denied a request to permanently seal the evidence, which includes surveillance footage that apparently reveals the incident for which the Packers running back pleaded no contest to battery and criminal damage to property.
Per Demovsky, the judge turned the matter over to the relevant police department. Any requests for the information will be handled by the police department, for a case-by-case determination as to whether the records will be released.
Both Jacobs and the victim in the case (who made the request that the evidence be permanently sealed) will have an opportunity “to appear” if a decision is made to release the records.
The league wants to review the video as part of its in-house determination regarding the discipline that will be imposed on Jacobs under the Personal Conduct Policy. It now has a path to potentially securing the video. If the motion to permanently seal the evidence had been granted, that would have potentially been impossible.
Jacobs remains on the Commissioner Exempt list. If/when a suspension without pay is imposed, he’ll receive credit for the games missed while on paid leave.
It looks like Tua Tagovailoa will be Atlanta’s backup quarterback when the team plays Green Bay on Thursday night.
Tagovailoa has no game status on the Falcons’ final injury report of the week, meaning he is available to play.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski noted earlier on Wednesday that Tagovailoa was trending toward being the backup behind Michael Penix Jr. this week.
Tagovailoa was supposed to start the season opener, but suffered an oblique injury during the practice week. Cooper Rush started the first two games as Michael Penix Jr. was still recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.
But now Penix is QB1 with Tagovailoa presumably QB2 for Week 3.
Elsewhere on the injury report, cornerback Billy Bowman (Achilles) is questionable while defensive end Samson Ebukam (hamstring) is out.
Running back Bijan Robinson (ankle), defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus (thumb), tight end Nick Muse (shoulder), and right tackle Jawaan Taylor (rib) are off the injury report and are set to play.
The Packers released their final injury report for Thursday night’s game against the Falcons and it confirms that they’ll be without two starting offensive linemen for the game.
Left guard Aaron Banks (knee, toe) has been ruled out after leaving last Sunday’s win over the Jets in the second quarter. Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele tore his patellar tendon in that game and is out for the season.
Guard Donovan Jennings (hand) and tackle Anthony Belton (elbow) replaced them last week and both are set to play as they did not receive injury designations.
Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (knee, concussion) is questionable after missing Week 2. Defensive tackle Anthony Campbell (ankle) is also listed as questionable.
Wide receiver Jayden Reed was officially ruled out with the neck injury that caused him to spend time in a New Jersey hospital before returning to Green Bay during the week. Defensive tackle Warren Brinson (calf) will miss the game as well.
Michael Penix Jr. may not be the only Falcons quarterback returning to the scene in Week 3.
Tua Tagovailoa was upgraded to being a full participant on the team’s estimated injury report on Tuesday and head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Wednesday that Tagovailoa may be the backup for Thursday’s matchup against the Packers.
“We’ll see,” Stefanski said in his press conference. “But he’s trending in the right direction.”
Tagovailoa has been sidelined since suffering an oblique injury during practice before the season opener.
Tagovailoa had been in a position to start before suffering the injury. Stefanski said that Tagovailoa has handled the entire situation well.
“Awesome teammate,” Stefanski said. “He’s working very, very hard to get himself back healthy and he’s doing really well there. But just ultra supportive. Great person to have around the building.”
Penix is set to start his first game since tearing his ACL midway through last season.
Atlanta’s final injury report of the week will be released later on Wednesday.
Michael Penix is set to make his first start for the Falcons since last November when the team faces the Packers on Thursday night and the quarterback shared his excitement about that return during a press conference on Tuesday.
Penix had said in recent weeks that he felt close to getting back in the lineup, but not all the way back to where he needed to be to feel confident in playing. He said that changed late last week as lingering soreness went away and he was convinced it was time to get back on the field after “pushing it to the limit” in a workout and finding that the knee “responded good.”
Penix said that the timing of his return had nothing to do with having extended rest heading into Week 4 or because of how poorly the first two weeks have gone for the team.
“Being healthy is what I was targeting. I was never no week-to-week thing,” Penix said at a press conference. “It was being healthy. Whenever I felt like I can go out there, like I said, get out of all that soreness and get stronger each and every day, that’s what it was always about. Once I felt healthy, it felt like I was ready to go. . . . I’m never gonna sit out if I’m healthy. I knew I wasn’t where I needed to be the first two weeks and now I feel like I’m where I want to be, so that’s why you’ll see me up this week.”
Penix called it “very exciting when you make the final decision” and, given the way the offense has floundered through two games, he’s likely not the only Falcons player excited about the change in plans for this week.
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.
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.
