Michael Gallagher covers national trending news across the NFL, NHL, NBA, WNBA, college football and entertainment for Newsweek.
He brings over a decade of writing and editing experience in sports journalism, has won multiple Tennessee Press Association awards, and covered several notable events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game, and an NHL Stadium Series.
His previous bylines can be found on Athlon Sports, Yahoo Sports, The Hockey News, Fox Sports, the Nashville Scene, the Nashville Post, Yardbarker, and SB Nation. You can read more of Michael's work by following him on X @MGsports_.
Two weeks into training camp and the Green Bay Packers have been ravaged by injuries.
Seven players — wide receivers Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, guards Elgton Jenkins and John Williams, safety Xavier McKinney, running back Marshawn Lloyd, and defensive end Collin Oliver — did not practice on Thursday, and 17 players have missed time since camp started back on July 23.
But amid the list of injuries piling up, one stands out as being more concerning than the othersAfter practicing on Wednesday, McKinney sat out on Thursday, and the Packers are expecting to be without McKinney for the rest of training camp and all three preseason games against the New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, and Seattle Seahawks while he deals with a calf injury that he aggravated earlier this week.
"Obviously glad that we caught it when we caught it, so just kind of trying to take it slow and then the build-up, obviously," McKinney said Thursday, via ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "But I'll be ready when it's time to go, for sure.
McKinney, who signed a four-year, $67 million contract with the Packers last offseason, has a solid streak of consecutive games played going (37 counting the postseason), and it doesn't seem to be in danger as the 25-year-old defensive back believes he'll be ready to go for Green Bay's Week 1 matchup against the Detroit Lions.
"[The injury] was just something like just lingering a little bit over time, and that's really all it really was," McKinney added.
McKinney is the second member of the Packers' starting secondary to be questionable for Week 1. Cornerback Nate Hobbs went down with a knee injury and underwent surgery to fix the issue.
He's also optimistic he'll be ready for the season opener.
McKinney gave his best performance during his debut season with the Packers, recording 11 passes defended, eight interceptions, one fumble recovered, one sack, and one quarterback hit.
For his excellent play, McKinney was named to his first Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro.
