Stephen A. Smith believes that the Packers are unable to defeat the Cardinals without Davante Adam. (0:51).
GREEN BAY (Wis.) -- The Packers placed Allen Lazard on Tuesday's reserve/COVID-19 roster. This means that the Packers could be without their top three wide receivers for Thursday's match against the unbeaten Arizona Cardinals.
Lazard was added to the COVID-19 reserve/COVID-19 contact list one day after Davante Adams, a leading receiver, received the news. All indications are that Lazard isn't vaccinated. He will be quarantined for five days so he can miss Thursday's game.
This means that Marquez ValdesScantling, who has missed four games due to a hamstring injury but is hopeful he can return this week, could not be eligible for injured reserve. The Packers may also be without their top three wideouts against Arizona.
Rodgers stated that Adams' test was a bit shocking. We dealt with it last season. Our team is perhaps slightly healthier than other teams in terms of not having as many cases. There have been some cases and we have dealt with them."
Randall Cobb, a veteran who was drafted by the Packers in 2008 after spending a year in Dallas, and then a year living in Houston, could be Aaron Rodgers’ primary target against Cardinals. With 26 receptions, running back Aaron Jones is the second most active player on the team.
The Packers had some good news: Malik Taylor, a receiver who has been on COVID since Oct. 15, was activated by the Packers on Tuesday.
Adams could only play in Thursday's match if he is asymptomatic, has had two negative tests within 24 hours of each other. Adams has not been required to follow unvaccinated player protocols, which is an indication that he is fully vaccinated.
Adams is not allowed to travel with the Packers to Phoenix without having passed two negative tests. Adams could travel on the game day if he hasn't received the second negative.
Rodgers stated that Adams was "talkable" to him. "He seems to be doing well in health. It's not surprising that he is disappointed."
Rodgers had hoped that Adams would get a false positive, but he said Tuesday that he wasn't concerned about Adams' COVID status.
The Packers won all six games Adams missed in the past two seasons, two last season and four this year.
Rodgers laughed and said, "I don’t know how we’ve gone 6-0 without Adams." He said, "We are not a better team with him, that's certain." Each of those games would have required me to take a look, but I think we just found a way through them.
Amazingly, Rodgers has been more productive with Adams in the offense for six games than he was with him since the beginning of 2019 season. He averaged 32.8 points per match with the Packers; and 25.9 without him. Other stats that are better without Adams include Rodgers' completion rate (70% vs 66% with) as well as passing yards per game (311 to 247).
In those six games, Rodgers had 17 touchdowns and an interception without Adams.
The Cardinals are aware of Rodgers success without Adams, and Vance Joseph, the defensive coordinator, recited the Packers stats without Adams. Joseph noted that quarterbacks such as Rodgers are responsible for carrying an offense even if they don't have their star receiver.
Joseph stated, "Sometimes it helps to them play an even cleaner ball game." He's not forced into throwing the ball to Adams. Adams is a good volume pass catcher so you can kind of get him to throw the ball to Adams. Without Adams, Aaron will have to play a real game, which can sometimes be dangerous.
Adams is not a part of his best game. Again, Adams not being there is a bad thing for them but Aaron will have to play a better game. His past record shows that he has played well, so we'll wait and see how this turns out.
Adams is third in the NFL with 744 yards receiving on 52 receptions. He is tied for second but has been kept in check by 10 total catches of 165 yards and two touchdowns in the last two weeks.
Despite this, Adams' receptions in this season are double that of Jones and 37 more than Lazard (15). This is the biggest gap between No. 1 and No. 2. 1, and No. 2 receivers for a team in NFL.
Now it's up to coach Matt LaFleur and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, as well as Luke Getsy, passing game coordinator, to come up with a plan.
Rodgers stated, "It definitely gets altered for sure." He hasn't had as many targets in the last two weeks, maybe five weeks ago. He's a key point in our offense.
Cobb was not available for six games with Adams out of the lineup. However, it seems like LaFleur or his staff might have mentioned Adams' record without Adams once or twice.
Cobb stated, "Yeah. Yeah, we've heard, we've listened," It's 6-0.
This report was contributed by Josh Weinfuss, ESPN.
