Allen Lazard joins Davante Adams on Packers’ Covid/Reserve list

The Green Bay Packers added WR Allen Lazard to the Covid-19/Reserve list on Tuesday afternoon, joining top wideout Davante Adams. Both players are likely to miss Thursday Night Football vs. the Arizona Cardinals this week. The Packers could be very, very thin at receiver with both Lazard and Adams out, though Marquez Valdez-Scantling has a chance to play this week.

Lazard is unvaccinated and was a close contact with Adams. Lazard will have to quarantine for at least 5 days and will definitely not play vs. the Cardinals. Chances are Lazard will be able to return in Week 9 vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, which is about two weeks away.

This week could be an all-out fade of the Packers offense. While players will be missing, which will give other players a boost in value, Green Bay could be pretty stagnant on offense. It’s a road game on a short week against a very tough opponent in the undefeated Cardinals. Not to mention the travel involved and Covid outbreak causing hiccups in preparation for the game. With that said, it’ll be tough to bench guys like Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Jones.

So the Packers will likely be left with MVS (maybe), Randall Cobb, rookie Amari Rodgers and Robert Tonyan as the primary pass-catchers. Cobb and Amari Rodgers are both slot guys. Tonyan should see more work running routes. Equanimeous St. Brown also could be inserted into the lineup. Cobb could see more targets, but really this is a big boost for the Packers’ run game with Adams and Lazard out.

Jones and AJ Dillon should get a ton of work. The game plan for the Packers should be to keep the ball out of Kyler Murray’s hands. In order to do that, you’ve got to control the clock with the run game. Jones and Dillon have been a formidable duo all season long. Jones should get more targets out of the backfield while Dillon can work in as a change-of-pace back and in short-yardage situations.