So far, so good for the Green Bay Packers starting guards, T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton.
Neither player has practiced this week, but both went through workouts Friday morning and according to coach Mike McCarthy, both players exceeded expectations.
“T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton had a workout this morning at 8 a.m. down at the Hutson Center. They both completed it. The work load they were asked to do, they exceeded it. That part went well, but really their evaluation tomorrow is the next step we have to get through,” McCarthy said.
That’s good news, but clearly how they feel on Saturday remains the final hurdle to playing on Sunday.
Officially, both guys are listed as questionable.
Lang has a sprained ankle that he suffered during the first series against New Orleans. Sitton has torn ligaments in his big toe. He finished the Saints’ game and is expected to play through the injury the rest of the season.
Earlier this week, Lang suggested both he and Sitton were likely to play on Sunday, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the lineup. However, if the Packers are going to be cautious, Lang appears most likely to sit out.
Sitton’s injury isn’t going to go away. We expect he’ll have surgery on it after the season. In the meantime, he’ll have to play through pain, so he might as well start doing that this week.
Lang, on the other hand, may be given more time to rest. The Packers sat defensive end Datone Jones, who also had an ankle sprain, for three games. On the other hand, cornerback Tramon Williams returned the following week with his ankle sprain.
It would stand to reason the larger man would need more time to recover from such an injury though.