Green Bay Packers Look to Contain Jayden Daniels as Micah Parsons Preps for Key Role
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.
Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Hits New Low Ahead of Week 2
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders remains on the roster but it sounds like his workload has taken a significant dip.
Sanders earned a spot on the 53-man roster as the No. 3 quarterback behind 40-year-old starter Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. The Browns signed Bailey Zappe to the practice squad in August to be the fourth quarterback on the roster.
But according to Tony Rizzo of ESPN Cleveland, Sanders hasn’t even been part of the scout team rotation.
I’m hearing that Shedeur is not even running the scout team. He’s watching everyone. Bailey Zappe is running the scout team. I don’t know if that’s true; that’s what I’m hearing,” Rizzo said on Thursday. “Why is he on the team? Why is he even here? Because his jersey is selling? The Haslams don’t need jersey money, do they?”
Sanders was officially inactive for the first game of the season but served as the emergency quarterback. He could have only seen action if both Flacco and Gabriel were unable to continue in the game.
Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Inactive for Week 1
Scout team reps may seem minor, but they’re an important step in Sanders’ development. Without those snaps, if he’s limited to simply watching from the sideline, his growth during this crucial rookie season could be significantly stunted.
Sanders’ lack of reps or opportunities has been a conversation since he arrived in Cleveland. In training camp, he worked exclusively with backups. During the team’s final preseason game, he was pulled before a critical two-minute drive to potentially win the game. Sanders played nearly the whole second half, completing just three passes and getting sacked five times before being pulled late.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski addressed the chatter that the team was “sabotaging” Sanders at the end of the preseason,
“Obviously, I don’t concern myself with outside types of things, but I’m committed to his development, just like all of our rookies,” Stefanski said. “So, we’ll continue to focus on getting our guys better, and that’s what we’ll stay committed to, and that’s what’s important to me.”
Shedeur Sanders Unlikely to See Field This Season With Browns
Sanders tumbled in the draft from a potential early first-round pick to the fifth round. Instead of being a future franchise quarterback, he’s been slotted into a developmental role with the Browns.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic said recently that Sanders isn’t expected to see the field at all this season unless something goes very wrong in Cleveland.
“For all the football conspiracy theorists out there trying to decode the real reason the Cleveland Browns drafted Shedeur Sanders, here’s the truth: There is no big secret. The pick wasn’t some master plan from ownership,” Russini said. “It was GM Andrew Berry’s call, rooted in his belief that Cleveland’s coaching staff could bring out the best in Sanders and help him grow into an NFL quarterback. It will be a process, and the Browns want to keep developing him.”
Russini added, “Don’t plan on seeing the fifth-round pick on the field this season unless things get really weird. Cleveland believes in Joe Flacco’s experience and Dillon Gabriel’s development as the backup.”
The Browns head to Baltimore this week to see the Ravens in a critical divisional clash.
