Green Bay Packers provide significant injury update on two defensive stars

The Green Bay Packers received great news on Friday as they prepare for their NFC Divisional round matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

“Help is on the way for the Packers: LBs Za’Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus were officially activated off IR for Green Bay,” Ian Rappaport tweeted.

Packers facing roster crunch

The Green Bay Packers are dealing with a bit of a roster crunch as Saturday night’s Divisional round matchup against the San Francisco 49ers nears. With multiple other players already back for the Packers, they are now faced with crucial decisions on a few injured stars on the roster.

“#Packers are now at 53 players on their roster, so they’ll have to create three spots if they activate Za’Darius Smith, Whitney Mercilus and Ty Summers,” said Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal. “Jaire Alexander and Billy Turner are already on the 53.”

Alexander and Turner have both missed time with injuries, and both are now practicing and on the Green Bay Packers active roster. Turner is expected to play on Saturday, while Alexander is listed as questionable.

Mercilus hasn’t played since Week 10 with what was expected to be a season ending injury. Despite that diagnosis, he has returned to practice. He has split time between the Packers and Texans this season, totaling 17 tackles, five quarterback hits, five tackles for loss, and four sacks.

Smith, on the other hand, has not played since Week 1, where he had one tackle. He had a back injury that required surgery and has forced him to miss the rest of the season up to this point. His return would be a huge boost for the Packers in the playoffs.

Both Mercilus and Smith will be eligible to suit up against the 49ers if they are activated from injured reserve. But doing so would require the Packers to make some moves elsewhere on the roster to cut down and make some room.

Green Bay Packers injury report ahead of 49ers matchup

The Packers released an updated injury report on Thursday, revealing some designations for key players on the roster.

Questionable: LT David Bakhtiari (knee), CB Jaire Alexander (shoulder)

Doubtful: WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (back)

Full Participant/Expected to Play: G/T Billy Turner (knee), LB De’Vondre Campbell (elbow), RB Aaron Jones (knee)

With Alexander and Turner both already back on the active roster, both are now looking to return to the field for the Packers. Alexander has practiced all week in a limited capacity. He has not played since October 3 with a shoulder injury. Turner, on the other hand, has been a full participant and is likely to return on Saturday night.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 8:15 p.m. ET in Green Bay. The Green Bay Packers are looking to rebound from their Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions, although that came with a number of key players resting in the second half. Green Bay went 13-4 on the season. San Francisco went 10-7 and defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round last week.