GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are placing outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith on short-term injured reserve in hopes of getting the Pro Bowl pass rusher past a troublesome back injury.
“We’re going to have to shut him down for a while,” coach Matt LaFleur said before Friday’s practice. “It’s a matter of do you keep him in a limited role or do you shut him down for a while and try to get him healthy and get him up to the snap count that we’d like him to be (and) just like he’s been in the past, because he’s such an impact player.”
Smith practiced only once during training camp. After that one practice, in which he did only individual drills, Smith missed the next three weeks. He returned last week, practiced on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (but not Friday), and played in 18 snaps on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
Continue Reading @ Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated wrote: