If you read papers from around the country, you'll see that every NFL team has question marks going into the regular season. Every team has injury issues that they're dealing with. So the Packers are not alone on those fronts. Still, with just two weeks to go until the regular season opener, you can understand why Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy wish things could be a little more settled in Green Bay.
The Packers brain trust has often talked about building the team "from the lines out." Well, right now, there's uncertainty on both sides of the football. Center Scott Wells has a lingering back injury that the Packers "hope" will be cleared up by the opener against the Vikings. His availability has a domino effect on who will start at the two guard spots. The knee injury to rookie Josh Sitton means he may indeed be sittin' for the start of the regular season. He had been the leader to start at right guard. So the group of Jason Spitz, Darryn Colledge, Tony Moll and Allen Barbre will be called upon to hold down the fort and keep Aaron Rodgers healthy.
Even if you take the optimistic view that Rodgers will be just fine, the backup quarterback situation is scary at the moment. Brian Brohm hasn't shown enough to even beat out Matt Flynn, let alone enough to let you think he's ready to step in if needed in the regular season. But if the Packers go out and get a veteran, they would likely have to expose Flynn to waivers, and he's shown enough that you'd hate to lose him. They'd also have to get that veteran up to speed on the offense when the team will be in game preparation mode, not an easy task.
On top of that, Ryan Grant still hasn't played in a game since January and it would be a pleasant surprise if he's able to just pick up where he left off last season. Usually, it takes a running back a few weeks to get back in stride.
The defensive line has been thinned by a combination of factors. The Packers didn't want to overpay Corey Williams, so he's in Cleveland. Ryan Pickett, KGB and Justin Harrell have been injured. Harrell won't be available untill at least the seventh week of the season and keeps creeping closer to being a flat-out bust. Suddenly, an area of strength has become concerning. That's one of the reasons why defensive coordinator Bob Sanders has been cooking up blitz packages. The Packers are going to need to get some pass rush from linebackers and the secondary.
Thompson and his personnel staff will likely pull off at least one deal in the coming days. Whether it's for a quarterback, tight end or defensive line, they do a good job of scouting the league and knowing who's available. Grant is the most recent and powerful example of that. McCarthy is an exceptional teacher of quarterbacks and playcaller. Still, there are more clouds at the moment than the Packers would prefer.