GREEN BAY – It’s not just the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who could have a thin receiving group this week.
The Green Bay Packers had a slew of receivers miss Thursday’s unpadded practice. Allen Lazard (ankle), Sammy Watkins (hamstring), Randall Cobb (illness) and rookie Christian Watson (hamstring) were all unavailable and did not participate in practice.
Lazard and Watson worked side by side with the anti-drug group during practice.
Lazard missed the Packers opener in Minnesota with the ankle injury after a defensive tackle stepped on it in practice, but he returned Sunday night against the Chicago Bears to catch a pair of passes for 13 yards, including one touchdown. Watkins caught three passes for 93 yards against the Bruins, but he was limited in practice with the hamstring on Wednesday and missed Thursday. Cobb’s disease is unknown.
Neither Cobb nor Watkins were seen during any open portion of practice.
Travis Fulgham brought back to Packers practice squad
In a seemingly equivalent move, the Packers brought back receiver Travis Fulgham to the practice squad. Fulgham was added to the Packers roster before the regular season and was on the practice squad before being released this week to make room for linebacker DQ Thomas.
With the lack of receivers available during the practice week, Fulgham was out and the Packers released safety Mike Brown to make room on the roster.
The Buccaneers will be without receiver Mike Evans, who was suspended after his altercation with New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore last week. Chris Godwin (hamstring) and Julio Jones (knee) also did not participate in Wednesday’s or Thursday’s practices after missing last week’s game.
Buccaneers receiver Scotty Miller (calf) returned to the fold as a full participant on Thursday, as did cornerback Carlton Davis III (hip) and center Robert Hainsey (knee).
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Kicker Mason Crosby was also absent from practice Thursday with an undisclosed illness. Defensive linemen Kenny Clark (groin) was a limited participant for the first time this week.
Tight end Marcedes Lewis did not practice Thursday. He gets a vet rest day every week, but he was listed on the injury report with a groin problem. He was a limited participant on Wednesday.
Left tackle David Bakhtiari returned to practice Thursday as a limited participant, after missing Wednesday’s padded session. Bakhtiari’s availability Sunday is unknown after he missed the first two games of the season.
