GREEN BAY — Zach Tom felt like he had a tiny version of himself on each of his shoulder pads Friday afternoon.
“It’s kind of both sides,” the Green Bay Packers starting right tackle said with a smile after practice.
On one side, there was his competitive, prideful, my-team-needs-me mini-me, exhorting him to push through the pain of his oblique injury and play in Sunday’s road matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
On the other side, there was the logical, it’s-a-long-season voice, reminding him the dangers of pushing the timeline and potentially suffering a setback that sidelined him for longer than just last week’s win over Washington and Sunday’s game at Huntington Bank Field.
For now, Tom is listed as questionable for the game, as is tight end Tucker Kraft, who suffered a knee injury during Thursday’s practice and did not practice at all on Friday. Head coach Matt LaFleur said both players will be given until game time — or, more accurately, 90 minutes before kickoff when the inactive lists are due — to show the medical and coaching staffs they’re good to go.
“I’m going to do everything I can to get out there,” Tom said. “And we’ll see on Sunday.”
On Thursday, head coach Matt LaFleur had said that the medical staff would need “to see how he’s moving” before green-lighting Tom, but LaFleur also acknowledged, “Certainly, he’s got a say-so in it as well, in terms of, does he feel comfortable?”
And that’s where those dueling voices will come into play. Tom indicated he did some 11-on-11 work during Friday’s practice, although just how much and now intense that work was, Tom wouldn’t say.
“Obviously, the long-term does play a part into it, but [expletive], I want to be out there,” Tom said. “But it’s kind of like two sides pulling against each other. Because I want to be out there, but I also want to be able to play well.
“And I think the biggest thing is just going to be, am I confident? And, how bad is the pain? It’s just weighing the options and going from there.”
Kraft, meanwhile, did not practice at all on Friday but did do some rehabilitation work during the time practice was open to reporters. Kraft did not come into the locker room during the media access period Friday, and LaFleur wasn’t tipping his hand at all before practice on whether Kraft would play.
“I couldn’t tell you,” LaFleur said. “Just like we do with all these guys, we’ll give him up to game time. But he’s got to, more than anything, he’s got to feel confident and be cleared at the same time.”
LaFleur also wouldn’t say how the injury happened, saying simply, “He was practicing.”
If Kraft can’t go, the Packers’ three remaining tight ends are Luke Musgrave, John FitzPatrick and Ben Sims.
“Just stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,” said Sims, who was inactive against Washington and has yet to play an offensive snap this season after playing 224 (20.7%) last year. “To be unprepared for a situation like that is just unprofessional.
“Tucker’s a big piece of this offense. We want him back as soon as possible. But in the meantime, this is something that we’ve done [before]. We know that your name could be called at any point in time, so you’ve got to roll and move on and hope to get Tucker back as soon as possible.”
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