Green Bay wide receiver Greg Jennings, who suffered a groin injury in the Packers' Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, didn't practice Tuesday ahead of a key Thursday night clash with the Chicago Bears.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said at a news conference Tuesday that, although he didn't practice, Jennings is improving. How Jennings responds Wednesday will go a long way in determining whether the receiver can play Thursday night.
"His workout and his rehab went pretty good," McCarthy said, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "Tomorrow will be the big day. We're dealing with the groin, how he responds to it will be an endurance issue."
McCarthy said on Monday that Jennings was hurt late in Sunday's loss. He said Jennings "didn't feel very good" Sunday but was better as of Monday morning.
Jennings also missed time in the preseason because of a concussion. The 2012 season is pivotal for Jennings, whose contract is up at the end of the season.
And although it's only Week 2, history says the Thursday night game at Lambeau Field might be pivotal to the Packers' playoff hopes. According to ESPN Stats & Information, only two teams in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) have started 0-2 -- with both losses coming at home -- and still made the playoffs: the 2003 Eagles and 1987 Colts. In addition, a Packers loss would mark just the third time in this era that the franchise would have opened a season with consecutive losses at home (2006 and 1988).
Jennings had five receptions for 34 yards in Week 1. The 2011 season ended three straight years of eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark as he finished with 949 yards in 13 games.
His production in the 2012 season will help to determine whether he'll be rewarded with a big contract from the Packers or another team in free agency. As for his talks with Green Bay, a source has told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that Jennings has suspended contract talks with the team now that the season is under way.
The two sides talked throughout the offseason and made little progress, and Jennings doesn't want negotiations to be a distraction, the source said.
Information from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and The Associated Press was used in this report.