The Green Bay Packers will be without one of their Pro Bowl defensive players during Sunday’s home opener against the Detroit Lions.
Defensive line Kenny Clark, who injured his groin in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, was officially ruled out by coach Matt LaFleur on Friday.
“Yeah, Kenny will be out, unfortunately. I know he’s doing everything in his power to be back as quickly as possible, but he won’t be able to play this weekend,” LaFleur said.
Clark missed practice the last three days. He initially injured his groin in the first half of the Packers’ 43-34 win over the Minnesota Vikings and didn’t return.
The Packers are dangerously thin along the defensive line. Clark won’t play Sunday, leaving Dean Lowry, Tyler Lancaster and Kingsley Keke to do most of the heavy lifting upfront. The Packers also have Montravius Adams, who missed Week 1 with a toe injury, and three defensive linemen on the practice squad (veteran Billy Winn and rookies Willington Previlon and Delontae Scott).
LaFleur said he wasn’t happy with the way the defensive line played in Week 1 and is looking for improvement against Adrian Peterson and the Lions on Sunday.
“I don’t think we played great last week there, I know these guys are hungry and ready to get back out on the field and prove that wasn’t their best performance,” LaFleur said.
