He still has a few more weeks to recover, but Za’Darius Smith is likely not going to be one 100 percent by the time Week 1 rolls around.
The Green Bay Packers outside linebacker didn’t make his summer practice debut until this past Monday when he came off of the non-football injury list due to a lingering back issue. However, Smith missed a pair of joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday before sitting out the Packers preseason game against the New York Jets on Saturday.
Green Bay’s season-opener isn’t until Sunday, Sept. 12, against the New Orleans Saints, but Smith’s head coach, Matt LaFleur, didn’t sound all that optimistic about the edge rusher’s status for that matchup.