Packers injury report: the Next Man continues to be up
Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy announced Monday that wide receiver Randall Cobb will miss “multiple weeks” after suffering a scary knee injury in Sunday’s win over the Baltimore Ravens. Meanwhile, McCarthy said fellow wideout James Jones will have a shot to play against the Cleveland Browns this coming Sunday, and linebacker Nick Perry, after a foot injury, “does not have a chance to play this week.”
So, the Packers are where they often seem to find themselves, injury-wise. Cobb’s injury in particular looked gruesome, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tyler Dunne reported Monday evening that Cobb will miss 6-8 weeks with a fractured fibula. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen later added that Cobb’s best case scenario is four weeks. Obviously, very sad news for a young player poised to explode into a new stratosphere of receivers this season.
Jarrett Boykin, who now could be a prominent player, overcame some early drops to set up a field goal with a 43-yard catch and run in the third quarter. Boykin is big and athletic, has been with the team a few seasons and now, of course, should get plenty of consistent time on the field. We feel the best in him can be brought out by Aaron Rodgers and an equal opportunity offense. The Packers, though, will likely be bringing in some wideouts to aid Boykin, Jordy Nelson and tight end Jermichael Finley. They re-added rookie wideout Reggie Dunn to the practice squad on Monday, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter speculated today that Tavarres King, a rookie out of Georgia currently on the Denver Broncos’ practice squad, could also be a candidate.
Whomever ends up joining the 53-man roster or getting more opportunities, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see the Packers continue their focus on keeping a balanced offense. Eddie Lacy’s dependable, consistent consumption of yards over the last two weeks serves only to give defenses more reason to take Green Bay’s running attack seriously, and that balanced respect is something they’ll need more than ever if the passing game, not humming at a high frequency of late even with Jones and Cobb in the lineup, needs time to adjust to its new, if temporary, self.
This is where having Rodgers, his knowledge of game situations and ability to put the offense in the best position to succeed, helps to say the least. They may be shorthanded, but the threats of Nelson and Finley and Rodgers, as always, means we think they’ll figure out ways to stay dangerous. Injured predatory animals shouldn’t be poked with a stick, and we like to think Green Bay’s offense asks for that level of wariness from opponents.
Still: Jones and Cobb in particular are not replaceable. Other wideouts can potentially come in and do a fine job, to be sure, but those are two unique players with skills that can’t be reproduced. Either they’re available and they have to be accounted for, or they’re not and the Packers will plan accordingly. Obviously two healthy wide receivers on the roster aren’t enough, but that’ll change. Jones returning soon-ish is good news. The loss of Cobb is going to shift a few of the major bullet points in the Packers’ offense, which was focused on getting the ball in his hands often. (It also means kick/punt returning duties need to be managed by someone else full-time.) There’s no way around that, and it’s a testament to the player he is.
In short: it could be a bit of a bumpy road for the passing game in the near future. But the Packers have a pretty good guy driving this rig, and that’s as crucial as ever. More than anything, injuries just really suck and we wish all of these guys a full recovery.
Briefly on Perry: it was surprising to hear that the linebacker had zero chance of suiting up against the Browns this early in the week, but news Monday is that Perry reportedly suffered a broken foot, though the hope is that he won’t miss the rest of the season.
It’s another sad blow for Perry, who was truly starting to impose himself defensively, picking up the slack in Clay Matthews’ absence and becoming a disruptive player on Green Bay’s defense. Two straight seasons derailed by injuries has to be frustrating for Perry, but with any luck – maybe asking a lot from the Football Gods, all things considered, but hey since we’re here we’ll ask – this won’t sideline him far too early for another year.
“Next man up,” the Packers’ mantra formed out of loud necessity in recent years, unfortunately continues to be the only real solution to the injury problem that comes with this game. What else can you do but hope the injured recover and get healthy and the healthy stay somewhere close to that?