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The Green Bay Packers will host the Los Angeles Rams at Lambeau Field in the Divisional round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs. The game will take place on Saturday, January 16 with kickoff at 4:35 p.m. ET.
Ahead of their game, we take a look at the Rams final injury report to see how these injuries may affect the team heading into their playoff matchup.
Packers final injury report
Out: N/A
Doubtful: Keke Kingsley (concussion)
Questionable: N/A
Notable players on in-week report: LB Za’Darius Smith (ankle, thumb), TE Marcedes Lewis (knee), CB Kevin King (achilles), WR Allen Lazard (core, wrist)
How injuries could affect Rams vs. Packers matchup
While the Packers’ injury report looks fairly clean, it does not reflect two major health developments that could or will affect Saturday’s game. Back in late December, the team’s All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari suffered a season-ending knee injury that forced the offensive line to reshuffle just days before the season finale. While the latest iteration of the unit held up well enough in that game — Billy Turner kicked out to Bakhtiari’s spot with Lucas Patrick filling in along the interior — handling Aaron Donald and the Rams defense presents a wildly different challenge.
Additionally, veteran offensive tackle Jared Veldheer tested positive for COVID-19 just days after signing with the team. The Packers have not placed anyone else on the reserve/COVID list since, but it remains possible that other members of the team will test positive prior to kickoff. Given that Veldheer most likely spent his time near other offensive linemen, the already battered unit could hit a critical threshold in the coming days.
As for the only player with an official injury designation, Kingsley Keke seems highly improbable to play in the Divisional round. Given how the Rams like to attack on offense, the Packers likely want to counter with more base or five-man fronts, an approach that worked well for them against a similarly schemed Tennessee Titans offense a few weeks ago. Keke’s absence makes that approach more difficult, and Green Bay does not have ideal depth behind him.