GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers are taking the long view on Randall Cobb, but there’s a chance they’ll have at least one — if not two — of their three starting receivers for Sunday’s game at Detroit.
Cobb will miss his second straight game because of the hamstring injury he sustained in practice on Sept. 30, but Davante Adams will practice on Saturday and if all goes well he should play against the Lions.
The short workout before the team departs for Detroit will be Adams’ first time on the field since he dropped out of Wednesday’s practice with a calf injury.
Meanwhile, Geronimo Allison has made some progress through the concussion protocol and head coach Mike McCarthy said “there’s hope for Geronimo.” Allison was knocked out of last Sunday’s win over the Bills with a concussion in the second half.
Together, the trio has combined for 56 catches, 768 yards and six touchdowns — or 54.4 percent of the team’s receptions, 64.8 percent of the receiving yards and all but one of Aaron Rodgers‘ touchdown passes.
“I think we’ve still got some progress to make before I think both sides would be comfortable,” Cobb said Thursday. “It’s a long season and we’re on Game 5, but at the same time, it’s a short season, and we’re on Game 5. So it’s trying to balance both of those. If something was to happen and I re-injure the same hamstring, it’s going to put me out for double the time. so it’s trying to be smart on both sides of it, which I struggle with because I play through emotion.”
If all three were out, the Packers would be down to their three rookie receivers.
Of the three, only fifth-round pick Marquez Valdes-Scantling has caught a pass (two for 41 yards, including a 38-yarder against the Bills) this season.
Fifth-round pick J’Mon Moore played his first snaps from scrimmage last week against the Bills and did not have a ball thrown his way. He battled drop issues during the preseason.
Sixth-round pick Equanimeous St. Brown has played only special teams this season.
The Packers added a receiver, former fifth-round pick DeAngelo Yancey, to their practice squad on Thursday and have until the end of Saturday to add him to the roster in order to play him on Sunday.
“They’ve all got talent, they’ve all come a long way and at some point you have to find out a little bit more about exactly what you have,” Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said of the three rookies. “Quez did some good things, obviously made a big play in the game the other day and started to emerge on special teams. J’Mon is continuing to get better and better. EQ was up for the game. They’re a good group. We’ll just see how the rest of the week unfolds.”