Packers hope Christian Watson, Devonte Wyatt ankle injuries aren’t long-term issues
Once again, Matt LaFleur bragged on Monday that he had intentionally avoided any conversations with vice president of player health and performance Bryan "Flea" Engel and director of sports medicine/head athletic trainer Nate Weir so he could plead ignorance to any injury-related questions from reporters.
It's become the Green Bay Packers head coach's M.O. when it comes to his team's health.
"I do that on purpose before I come in here," LaFleur said from the Lambeau Field media auditorium lectern during his usual day-after-the-game Q&A session on Monday, roughly 24 hours after his team's 31-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Maybe LaFleur also was trying to avoid bad news, after the Packers faced the Vikings without No. 1 cornerback Jaire Alexander (quadriceps/groin), lost wide receiver Christian Watson to an ankle injury late in the first quarter and lost defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt to an ankle injury of his own during the fourth quarter.
LaFleur said he didn't know Wyatt's status. Asked about Watson, he said the team will "know more in the next couple days. I would assume he'd probably be out most likely at least a week or so."
NFL Network reported earlier in the day that Watson, who was injured when he was bent backward as Jordan Love's intended receiver on Vikings linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill's interception, had sustained a high-ankle sprain and might be headed for injured reserve.
If that proves to be the case, Watson would miss—at minimum—the Packers' next four games: At the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, at home against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 13, at home against the Houston Texans on Oct. 20 and at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 27.
The Packers have one more game after that —Nov. 3 against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field — before their bye week.
As for Wyatt, he left the Packers' locker room Sunday afternoon on crutches with his foot in an orthopedic boot and on crutches, unsure of his prognosis.
"I don't think it's too bad. It's kind of hard to tell because my adrenaline is still going," said Wyatt, adding that he was scheduled for an MRI on Monday. "So it's kind of hard to tell. It could be worse in a little bit."
Trying something new
LaFleur said having punter Daniel Whelan try an onside drop-kick — rather than the traditional style onside kick with Brayden Narveson — wasn't a function of the NFL's new kickoff rules.
Instead, LaFleur said the team had been experimenting with that style of kick in practice and while the Packers failed to recover the kick on Sunday — "That obviously didn't look great," he admitted — it was worth a try.
"(Whelan) got one a week ago in practice and it got our guys, so that's what we decided to do," LaFleur said.
Asked if having to announce their intention to onside kick was a factor in trying something teams rarely do, LaFleur said no.
"I think all the kickers around the league have different styles of kicks and we're going to put the guy that we feel like gives us the best opportunity to go out there and recover one of those suckers," LaFleur said. "It's a low probability, regardless. I don't want to be in those situations if we can help it. (But) yeah, it didn't work out."
'Got to try to maintain my poise'
LaFleur said he didn't know if any further discipline would come from the 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he received late in the first half when referee Bill Vinovich's officiating crew didn't see LaFleur calling timeout and the coach went a little overboard with his gesticulating.
"I always talk to our guys about, 'Take it out of the officials' hands. You never want to put them in a situation where they have to interpret (something),'" LaFleur said before sharing a story of wide receiver Romeo Doubs being flagged for offensive pass interference in Week 1 on a play because he hadn't used the proper technique on a pick route.
"The same goes for me. I've just got to try to maintain my poise a little bit better in that situation."
Asked if that means he needs to improve his timeout-calling technique, LaFleur smiled and replied, "Apparently. I don't know."
