Kenny Clark doesn't make trip to San Francisco

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A back injury prevented Green Bay Packers first-round rookie Kenny Clark from traveling with his team to San Francisco, forcing him to miss Friday night’s third preseason exhibition against the 49ers.

The severity of Clark’s back injury is unclear. Coach Mike McCarthy could have decided to give his rookie rest with a long trip to the West Coast. It takes more than four hours to fly from Green Bay to the Bay Area, a long time for someone with a bad back to sit on a plane.

For Clark, preseason snaps are critical. The Packers have handed him a heavy workload in training camp and preseason, knowing they’ll have to rely heavily on their first-round pick this season. Clark has been a defensive tackle in the Packers base 3-4 defense and interior rusher in subpackages.

A full list of inactives should be released momentarily.

rwood@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ByRyanWood