The roster connections between the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots are few and far between heading into Sunday night’s matchup at Gillette Stadium.No former Patriots will be on the field for the Packers
Ja'Whaun Bentley Jersey , aside from Patrick Graham, now on the sideline as the defensive run-game coordinator and inside linebackers coach for Green Bay. Just one former Packer, meanwhile, will be on the field for New England.That’d be Lawrence Guy.And unlike Graham, he’ll be wearing pads and a helmet as the 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff gets underway.The last of 10 picks made by Green Bay’s war room in 2011, Guy heard his name called in the seventh round at No. 233 overall. Offensive tackle Derrick Sherrod, wide receiver Randall Cobb, running back Alex Green, cornerback Davon House, tight end D.J. Williams, guard Caleb Schlauderaff, linebackers D.J. Smith and Ricky Elmore
Authentic Isaiah Wynn Jersey , as well as tight end Ryan Taylor all had theirs called by then.But of whom, only Cobb, a second-rounder and eventual Pro Bowler, has gone on to appear in more NFL games than Guy since then.Five other members of the class appeared in fewer than 30 during their careers. Seven in all were off NFL rosters by 2015.That appeared to be the trajectory Guy was heading on.He never played beyond the preseason for the team that drafted him.The 6-foot-4, 315-pound defensive tackle out of Arizona State landed on injured reserve after suffering a concussion in August of his rookie year. He later joined the Indianapolis Colts’ 53-man roster after spending the first month of the 2012 regular season on the Packers’ practice squad.And that’d be it for Guy’s stay in Green Bay. It spanned 537 days.Guy proceeded to the Colts for his first 11 games since entering the league, recording 22 tackles, one sack and one batted pass in the process. He found himself claimed off waivers by the then-San Diego Chargers in 2013 and then by the Baltimore Ravens in 2014, where a rotational role and job security were earned and maintained.That has carried over in Foxborough for Guy, who said on his introductory Patriots conference call that he’d “played down the whole line” and “been around the league a couple of times.”He will now revisit his first NFL team as a member of his fifth.Arriving in New England on a four-year deal worth up to $20 million March 2017, Guy started a career-high 15 games during the first leg of it. He set a new best with 58 tackles and added one sack while logging 582 snaps – eighth-most on the defense and second-most on the line behind Trey Flowers. A $500,000 bonus followed.Guy has been in for 51 percent of the downs thus far into 2018.The 28-year-old has started all eight games for the Patriots on a depth chart also featuring Danny Shelton, Malcom Brown and Adam Butler. He ranks eighth on the unit in combined tackles
Limited Danny Etling Jersey , trailing only linebackers, defensive backs and the aforementioned Flowers.And as for Pro Football Focus’ leaguewide grades for interior defenders, Guy currently holds the seventh spot.“I think Lawrence has done a really good job for us in a lot of ways on and off the field,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said during a late-September press conference. “Run, pass, technique, communication. Yeah, he’s been a really valuable player for us.“He’s a hard guy to block and he’s big. He uses his hands well. Again, he’s an instinctive player. He recognizes blocking schemes and play action and things like that. Yeah, he’s done a good job. He works hard and he’s gotten a lot better.”Sunday night will mark the first time that Guy, who has been active for games against 30 of the 32 teams, gets a chance to show those improvements versus Green Bay. Rams receiver Cooper Kupp suffered a potentially serious knee injury on Sunday — a blow to a team that has stayed remarkably healthy on the way to a 9-1 start.Kupp went down in the fourth quarter of Los Angeles‘ win over Seattle clutching his left knee
Sony Michel Jersey Salute to Service , which sidelined him for two games earlier this season when he was hurt on a horse-collar tackle at Denver.Coach Sean McVay said Kupp would have an MRI on Monday.“I don’t think it’s good,” McVay said. “It’s his knee. We’ll get the MRI, but it doesn’t look good right now.”Kupp led the Rams last season with 869 yards receiving as a rookie.“It doesn’t look great. He’s been a valuable piece of our team, and a guy we’ll miss,” quarterback Jared Goff said. “Like a lot of us, he’s been through a lot this week. He’s a tough guy (with) a tough family, and I know he’ll come out stronger through it all.”In other injury news, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady also lost one of his favorite targets when Julian Edelman left New England’s 34-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans with an ankle injury. Edelman was suspended for the first four games of the season, when Brady and the Patriots’ offense struggled.It was a rough day for the New England offense that also ended with Brady on the bench — because the game was out of reach.Left tackle Trent Brown was hurt twice during the game, leaving for good when he injured his back in the third quarter. Tight end Dwayne Allen also hurt a knee in the third quarter.For the Titans, running back David Fluellen went down untouched with a knee injury.New England’s opponent in last season’s AFC championship game also got banged up on offense. Jaguars center Brandon Linder and tackle Ereck Flowers left Jacksonville’s loss to Indianapolis with knee injuries.The Colts lost defensive end Carroll Phillips to an injured groin and defensive tackle Grover Stewart to an ankle injury.The Packers‘ defense lost two starters in Green Bay’s win over Miami when safety Kentrell Brice hurt an ankle and linebacker Nick Perry limped off with a knee injury. They had been on the injury report last week for different reasons.Cornerback Bashaud Breeland also left in the fourth quarter for the Packers with a groin injury after he made a key interception earlier in the second half. Green Bay offensive lineman Lucas Patrick took a hard hit while returning a short kickoff and was in the concussion protocol.For the Dolphins, running back Kenyan Drake left with a knee injury
Duke Dawson Jersey , and two wide receivers were hurt: Davante Parker (shoulder) and Jakeem Grant (leg).The Bills, with Matt Barkley filling in at quarterback for the injured Josh Allen and Derek Anderson, had two defensive players hurt in their win over the Jets. Cornerback Taron Johnson hurt a shoulder and Matt Milano, who had an interception earlier in the game, left in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a head injury.Cincinnati’s historically bad defense suffered another setback when cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick exited the Bengals‘ blowout loss to the Saints with a concussion.For the Detroit Lions, tight end Michael Roberts suffered a shoulder injury and wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. hurt a knee.Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman left with a knee injury on the opening drive against the Raiders. Later in the game, Oakland lost wide receiver Martavis Bryant to a knee injury that coach Jon Gruden said he fears is serious.