The Annual NFL Owner Meetings took place this past week in Phoenix, AZ. All 32 owners, head coaches, and general managers were in attendance. On Tuesday, the NFL owners voted to amend the return to practice start date for players who begin the year on the PUP, Physically Unable to Perform, list. This could be tremendous news for the Packers with their current injuries to Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft, Zach Tom, and Devonte Wyatt.
In previous seasons, if a player started the year on the PUP list, the player was not allowed to return to practice until the team had played four regular season games. This week, the owners voted to reduce the number of games from four to two. The Packers will most likely place Micah Parsons and Tucker Kraft on the PUP list for the upcoming season. If that happens, with this new rule, Parsons and Kraft could return to the practice field as early as Week 3.
The PUP injured player still has a 21-day practice window. The Packers have a history of using the full 21 days. They did that last season with Christian Watson. This rule change could allow Parsons and Kraft to return to game action for the Packers in Week 6 instead of Week 8, assuming the two use the full 21-day practice/ramp-up period. It is entirely possibly that Parsons and/or Kraft are not ready to practice after two games but this rule change, at the very least, presents the Packers with a chance to get these guys on the field sooner rather than later.
Packers Players Who Could Start on the PUP List
Besides Micah Parsons and Tucker Kraft, the Packers could have Devonte Wyatt, Zach Tom, Kamel Hadden, and John FitzPatrick. Wyatt suffered a broken fibula and a torn ligament in his left ankle in the Packers Thanksgiving Day win against the Lions. Tom went down against the Broncos with a partially torn patellar tendon in his knee, which required surgery. Hadden fractured his ankle and John FitzPatrick ruptured his achilles in the final weeks of the season.
The two biggest names are Wyatt and Tom. The Packers brass has recently expressed optimism that Wyatt and Tom will be ready of the start of training camp. These two seem to have a better chance of being ready to go than Parsons and Kraft but this PUP rule change might also benefit Wyatt and Tom. Gutekunst told the media this week that he is in daily communication with Parsons. He also mentioned that Nate Weir, the Packers Head Athletic Trainer, recently visited Parsons and came back with a “really good” report.
Matt LaFleur mentioned that Tucker Kraft was “ahead of schedule” in regard to his ACL rehab. Parsons and Kraft are two of the most valuable players in Green Bay so despite the positive rehab news and the new rule change, they will not step foot on the field without full clearance. The same should be expected for Wyatt and Tom. Nonetheless, the new PUP rule does give Packer fans a glimpse of hope that they could see their star players return to action sooner rather than later.
