The official injury report says “doubtful,” which means there’s a 25-percent chance receiver Greg Jennings will face the Bears on Thursday Night Football. The reality could be that Jennings is closer to questionable, based on a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Schefter says that Jennings is 50-50 to play.
So why is Jennings doubtful? The innocuous answer is that, with limited categories, the team had to pick either 25 percent to 50 percent. So the team picked 25 percent. The more cynical explanation is that the Packers deliberately understated Jennings’ status in the hopes of making the Bears think that Jennings won’t be playing.
Regardless, like Cowboys tight end Jason Witten last week, who was doubtful with a lacerated spleen but played, Jennings may play, too. And this could be the start of a new trend in which teams use the “doubtful” label more liberally for guys who in reality could be far more likely than doubtful to play.