Packers without 3 starters, including Preston Smith, during Wednesday’s practice

The Green Bay Packers returned two starters but were without three others during Wednesday’s practice, the first in preparation for playing the Washington Football Team on Sunday.

First, the good news. The first injury report of the week listed cornerback Kevin King as limited, signaling his return to the field after missing last week’s win in Chicago with a shoulder injury. Left tackle David Bakhtiari officially returned to the practice field, but he remains on the PUP list until activated to the 53-man roster. The Packers have a three-week window to activate him.

Now, the bad news. The Packers were without outside linebacker Preston Smith (oblique), center Josh Myers (knee) and safety Darnell Savage (concussion). All three of the players absent from practice suffered new injuries during the Packers’ win over the Chicago Bears last Sunday.

Smith will get the week to recover and potentially play against Washington, his former team. He’s never missed a game in his NFL career. Savage must work through the league’s concussion protocol before returning, while Myers is expected to miss several games.

Backup offensive tackle Dennis Kelly was also out due to a pre-existing back injury. The only other player on the Packers’ injury report was receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who was a full participant despite a new shoulder injury.

The Packers removed offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins from the injury report completely, suggesting he’s fully recovered from an ankle injury that cost him three games. The team also completely removed Aaron Jones, A.J. Dillon, Robert Tonyan, Vernon Scott and Jack Heflin, who were all on last week’s injury report during the week.

Washington’s injury report to start the week looked dire. Ron Rivera’s team was without running back Antonio Gibson, receiver Terry McLaurin, receiver Curtis Samuel, offensive tackle Sam Cosmi, guard Brandon Scherff, tight end Ricky Seals-Jones and offensive tackle Charles Leno during Wednesday’s practice. Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen was limited.

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