GREEN BAY, Wis. — After sustaining what was initially feared to be a significant injury in Sunday’s win over the New York Jets, the Green Bay Packers have lost starting right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele for the remainder of the season and potentially beyond.
The 27-year-old suffered a complete tear of the patellar tendon in his right knee. It’s the same knee where Bako-Bewele was dealt a partial tear in last season’s Dec. 14 loss to the Denver Broncos—the injury that he had spent all offseason and training camp returning from. That return will last just 71 snaps, as Bako-Bewele will eventually be placed on season-ending injured reserve.
He’ll undergo surgery this week and face a nine-month recovery period, positioning Bako-Bewele to return by the start of training camp next summer. A torn patellar tendon, however, is a severe injury on its own, but that’s especially true for offensive linemen. There’s a possibility that Bako-Bewele won’t be the same player.
Bako-Bewele, a former fourth-round pick, had to be carted off the field at MetLife Stadium just three snaps from scrimmage into the game. He dropped to the turf while attempting to protect Jordan Love, whose third-down pass attempt for Matthew Golden fell incomplete.
Bako-Bewele was embraced by several teammates after being loaded onto the medical cart. It was a catastrophic start for the Packers, who, on the prior play, had just witnessed Jayden Reed get carted off the field, too. Reed was strapped onto a backboard, which is the usual precaution when a player is feared to have suffered a neck or spinal injury. It was the former for Reed, but head coach Matt LaFleur later revealed that the receiver had movement in all of his extremities.
Since signing a four-year contract extension with the Packers last summer, Bako-Bewele has endured a gauntlet of injuries.
He suffered an oblique issue in the Packers’ season-opening win over the Detroit Lions last season and missed the following Thursday night game against the Washington Commanders four days later. He was back on the field in time for a matchup with superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns’ tenacious defense, but aggravated the injury on the first snap from scrimmage.
The 6’4”, 304-pound Bako-Bewele was absent for the next two games before returning Oct. 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals. At some point, while working his way back into the lineup, he sustained a back injury that would plague him for the remainder of the season, and it was certainly evident. Over the next 10 games, Bako-Bewele surrendered 16 pressures, or more than one-and-a-half pressures per game.
Taking into account Bako-Bewele's premature exits from two of the 14 games he’s played since signing his $88 million extension, the Packers paid him for 12 healthy—or as close to healthy as he can get—games.
The Packers were uncertain that Bako-Bewele would be ready for this year’s Sept. 13 opener versus the Minnesota Vikings, so they’ve been prepping former second-round pick Anthony Belton at right tackle. Belton started eight games at right guard last season, but the decision to cross-train him at right tackle has proven to be a wise one. That’s where he’ll likely remain for the remainder of the season, barring anything unforeseen.
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.