<
        >

          NFL Nation

          Packers play it 'smart' with receiver Davante Adams

          • Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff WriterOct 18, 2015, 03:23 PM ET
            Close
              Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA. You can follow him on Twitter at @RobDemovsky.
            Follow on X

          GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Coach Mike McCarthy said this past week the impending bye wouldn’t play a factor in whether his injured players, specifically Davante Adams, would be active for Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers. But the decision to hold out the Green Bay Packers receiver for another week should give him the chance to come back even stronger after the next week’s break.

          Adams, who has not played since Week 3 against the Chiefs because of a sprained left ankle, was among the Packers’ inactives on Sunday.

          Against the Chiefs, Adams lasted just three plays after he aggravated the injury that originally occurred eight days earlier against the Seahawks.

          He was listed as questionable on Friday. Each of the previous two weeks, he had been downgraded to doubtful after being unable to practice on Saturday. This week, there was no change to his status after Saturday’s practice.

          “It’s still sore, but it’s tolerable,” Adams said on Friday during the last media availability of the week. “Like if I had to go, I can get out there, but I just want to be smart and take care of it.”

          It appears smart won out in this case.

          Inactive list: QB Brett Hundley, S Morgan Burnett, RB Alonzo Harris, LB Nick Perry, G Lane Taylor, NT B.J. Raji and Adams all were declared inactive. Only Hundley, Harris and Taylor were healthy scratches.

          Short on the D-line: Without Raji (groin), the Packers will have only four defensive linemen available -- Mike Daniels, Letroy Guion, Datone Jones and Mike Pennel. They also lost one of their two practice squad linemen, Bruce Gaston, on Saturday when he was signed to the Bears’ active roster.

          Officiating crew: Walt Anderson, a head referee since 2003, will work the game. He did two Packers games last season -- Week 2 against the Jets and Week 17 against the Lions, both Green Bay wins. He was also the referee in last season’s “Deflategate” game between the Colts and Patriots and worked Super Bowl XLV, when the Packers beat the Steelers.

          Weather forecast: According to AccuWeather, it will be a typical fall day at Lambeau Field with a game-time temperature of 54 degrees under mostly sunny skies. However, it will be down into the 40s by the end of the game. Winds are expected to be light, 4-8 miles an hour from the south.