GREEN BAY — Maybe Quay Walker’s calf injury, which landed him on the Green Bay Packers’ injury report Thursday, will turn out to be nothing to worry about — like running back Josh Jacobs’ injury was a couple weeks ago. 

Or maybe the Packers will be without their middle linebacker and defensive in-the-huddle play-caller for Sunday’s matchup with the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field.

Walker, who practiced in full on Wednesday, did not practice at all on Thursday. It’s unclear when he injured his calf or how serious the injury might be.

The Packers’ leading tackler and one of the team’s captains, Walker is in the midst of what defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said has been an “elite” season, and if he can’t play against the Panthers, Hafley would likely turn to Isaiah McDuffie to wear the green-dot helmet communication device on Sunday.

He calmly drew a crucial unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf last Sunday night, choosing not to retaliate when Metcalf tried to poke him in the eye through his facemask.

“I just think there’s so much growth in him, as a person, as a leader,” Hafley said Thursday. “And then on the field, he sees the game so much quicker right now.

“His football knowledge, the way he’s starting to see things and calls runs out and calls passes out and gets guys lined up, if you watch him right now, it’s almost like he’s a quarterback back there. … He’s starting to see things before they happen, which is really, really impressive.

“I just love the guy.”

Health watch | The Packers added two other players to their injury report: Right guard Jordan Morgan, with an illness, and backup quarterback Malik Willis, with an ankle injury. Both were listed as having been limited participants in practice.

It’s unclear if Willis injured his ankle in practice or when the injury cropped up.

Defensive end Lukas Van Ness (foot), wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (calf) and linebacker/core special-teams player Nick Niemann (pectoral) did not practice again Thursday and are not expected to play against the Panthers.

Meanwhile, kicker Brandon McManus, who kicked on Wednesday in practice, was listed as a full participant and appears well on his way to kicking again after returning to action against Pittsburgh following a two-game absence.

“He’s had a good week. We really thought he had a good Thursday last week and he had a good warmup [before the game against the Steelers],” said special-teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, who chalked McManus’ 57-yard miss against the Steelers up to the coaches stretching the attempt beyond the line they’d set before game time.

“I feel like he’s back to some degree, better than he’s been. I thought he had a real good day yesterday and anticipating having a good day tomorrow.”

‘You don’t have much of a choice’ | While Hafley praised cornerback Carrington Valentine’s performance against the Steelers after starting instead of veteran Nate Hobbs, he tried to dismiss the idea that Hobbs had been benched in favor of Valentine after Hobbs’ poor performance against Arizona the week before.

“Everyone wants to point the finger at Nate Hobbs right now. Like, Nate Hobbs isn’t benched. This isn’t the last you’re going to see Nate Hobbs,” Hafley said. “There’s no confidence lost in Nate Hobbs. I said that last week. I have not lost confidence in him.

“Things are going to get hard. You’re not going to win every game and you’re not going to play great, but you can’t hang your head. You’ve got to rise up when that happens.”

Asked if Hobbs has bounced back this week after losing his starting job, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur replied, “You don’t have much choice. … There’s a reason we went out and got a guy like that [in free agency]. He’s demonstrated it before, and we fully expect that he’ll do it again.”

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