GREEN BAY, Wis. — Through four games, the Green Bay Packers have nearly as many season-ending injuries.
They were dealt a double whammy in the Sept. 20 win over the New York Jets after losing both Jayden Reed and Zach Bako-Bewele in back-to-back plays on their inaugural offensive possession. Reed was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury that would ultimately require surgery, while Bako-Bewele suffered a complete tear of his right patellar tendon.
The Packers have managed to get by unscathed—for the most part. They have the weaponry on offense to survive in the meantime sans Reed, but the loss of Bako-Bewele kickstarted wholesale changes along the offensive line. They brought in three different veterans—Laken Tomlinson, Mekhi Becton, and Kevin Zeitler—in an effort to stabilize a lowly room, and, so far, it has been a successful venture. The 34-year-old Tomlinson started at left guard in Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and didn’t surrender a single pressure.
It’s unclear how the Packers will pick up the pieces this time, though.
Star linebacker Edgerrin Cooper left Sunday’s game just north of six minutes into the third quarter after hitting the deck with a non-contact injury. The telltale sign of its extent was Cooper’s immediate reaction to grab the back of his ankle.
Cooper was carted off the field at Raymond James Stadium before promptly being ruled out by the team with what was described as an Achilles injury. He’ll still have to return to Green Bay and undergo an MRI to officially declare it, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine the severity.
When asked how the Packers replace Cooper’s presence, an emotional and visibly irate Matt LaFleur explicitly said, “I don’t know.”
They were able to fill the void on Sunday with Isaiah McDuffie, but even he exited the game briefly with an eye injury. That forced the Packers to turn to Ty’Ron Hopper, a former third-round pick who flashed in the preseason. For the remainder of the season, though? That’s a different story, but it certainly isn’t one that the Packers are strangers to.
Since Nov. 2 of last season, the Packers have been dealt a cruel hand in the injury department. They’ve been hit with a significant, season-ending injury to one of their players—eight of whom are starters—nine different times in the last 336 days.
Nov. 2: Tucker Kraft tears ACL.
Nov. 10: Elgton Jenkins fractures fibula with ligament damage.
Nov. 27: Devonte Wyatt fractures fibula with ligament damage.
Dec. 14: Micah Parsons tears ACL.
Dec. 14: Zach Bako-Bewele suffers partial tear of right patellar tendon.
Dec. 27: Kamal Hadden’s ankle dislocation with tibia and fibula fracture.
Sept. 20: Jayden Reed’s neck injury; surgery required.
Sept. 20: Zach Bako-Bewele suffers complete tear of right patellar tendon.
Oct. 4: Edgerrin Cooper sustains suspected torn Achilles.
Even pre-dating November, Reed and Bako-Bewele had battled injuries through the early portion of last season. Reed was already dealing with a Jones fracture in his foot when he broke his collarbone in a Sept. 11 game against the Washington Commanders, while Bako-Bewele battled through an oblique injury.
The Packers were able to stay afloat despite the adversity. They were 9-3 and in contention for the No. 1 seed in the conference by the time their Dec. 14 date with the Denver Broncos rolled around, but that was when the proverbial fork was stuck in their season. Losing Parsons and Bako-Bewele would be too difficult to overcome, and the Packers wouldn’t win another game until 14 days ago.
Losing someone as effective as Cooper is just as detrimental to the Packers’ Super Bowl aspirations—hell, even their playoff aspirations—as Parsons and Bako-Bewele. The former second-round pick has proven to be imperative to their success, and in his first season under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, Cooper was en route to an All-Pro campaign. If you needed a testament to that, Cooper still finished Sunday’s game as the Packers’ leading tackler despite exiting with roughly 24 minutes left.
“Yeah, it definitely sucks to lose a guy like that,” said Evan Williams. “He’s such a tone-setter for this team. At the same time, it’s next man up. We gotta keep this thing rolling.”
Cooper is second on the team in tackles this season, but he leads with three sacks. Gannon has had to get creative with Cooper’s usage in an effort to bolster the Packers’ pass rush sans Parsons, and that has helped him gain more opportunities at impacting the quarterback.
Of course, the Packers’ issues have stemmed far beyond their infirmary report. They haven’t been able to routinely protect Jordan Love, they rank No. 32 in team rushing yards, and they’re the second-most penalized team in the league behind only the Cleveland Browns. There were four different instances against the Buccaneers where the Packers were flagged for a penalty on first down, pushing them back into first-and-20.
“That’s not winning football,” LaFleur said.
Injuries aren’t an excuse—LaFleur will be the first to tell you that no one is going to feel bad for the Packers. At some point, though, it does become at least a little valid. An almost insurmountable set of circumstances has presented itself to the Packers, and it won’t matter if they choose to sink or swim—they could be doomed before they even have the opportunity to decide.
Zachary Jacobson is the author of The Packer Dispatch. He is entering his 12th season covering the Green Bay Packers after spending seven as the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter @zachjacobson or contact him via email at itszachariahj@gmail.com.