It’s only Tuesday afternoon, but the Green Bay Packers have already come to grips with the fact that they will be missing two important pieces of their 53-man roster when they square off with their division rival, the Detroit Lions.
Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy announced to the media this afternoon that both CB Casey Hayward and RB James Starks would be out for the team’s 4th game of the year, as Hayward is still rehabbing from a hamstring injury and Starks hasn’t healed to full strength after exiting their week 3 victory early with a knee problem. This is a bit of a blow for Green Bay, especially in the case of Hayward, as he was rumored to be coming back this week for his first action of the 2013 season.
In the case of Starks, a return of Eddie Lacy (which seems likely after a week off following a concussion) mitigates his absence, because of the fact that rookie Johnathan Franklin emerged with a 100-yard game before the bye. However, Starks is, by far, the most experienced player in Green Bay’s backfield, and I am certain that McCarthy would rather have him on the field in certain high-leverage situation than either rookie.
Stay tuned to the injury reports as they emerge throughout the week, but Green Bay is already down 2 players for Sunday.