Packers look to ‘keep the wheels turning’ against…

“It’s more just keeping the momentum going and the desire to be out there with the guys competing,” Rodgers said. “I know there’s possible players who could return this week – I don’t know what their status is going to be – but that’s exciting, for sure.

“If guys are healthy, guys want to play. There’s risk every time you take the field. There’s obviously the idea about rust compared to momentum but, yeah, I want to be out there and be with my guys.”

Over in the other Zoom room, both Adams and defensive tackle Kenny Clark talked on Wednesday about the benefit of keeping your body in a routine and staying in a rhythm, especially with a bye on the other side Sunday’s NFC North showdown.

Adams, who needs just 22 receiving yards to break Jordy Nelson’s single-season franchise record, doesn’t anticipate he’ll play the entire game but said he’ll be ready for anything.

One thing Adams feels strongly about is the value of playing in a regular-season finale compared to a preseason game, which comes during the ramp-up period of training camp against mostly vanilla defenses.

“The biggest part for me is just not being out two weeks before going into a heated playoff matchup,” Adams said. “I just don’t like having that type of time off going into a game like that.

“Obviously there’s risk, but there’s risk going across the street, so at this point, you can’t run from me. If you’re scared, go to church and just do what you gotta do. We’re not thinking too much about it. Just wanna keep the wheels turning and get ready for playoffs.”

The Packers put a lot of time and resources into deciding how to proceed this week. LaFleur credited director of football technology Mike Halbach and his team for the work they did breaking down the numbers on previous teams that had clinched early and how they handled their regular-season finale.

The strategies ranged from playing starters from a third of the game to the entire contest. The variables will always differ somewhat depending on the year and situation but LaFleur is confident in the plan the Packers developed and how his team will respond on Sunday and beyond.

“It was overwhelmingly in favor of giving the guys at least some time,” LaFleur said of the team’s research. “Certainly you weigh in that information, but you also talk to your players and these guys want to play. So that’s how we’re going to go about it.”