Well that certainly didn’t last very long did it? It seems like just yesterday that the boys of From the Benches were discussing that the Packers were finally going through a training camp without a high number of injuries. The thought was that this might finally be the year that the team stays healthy and climbs back towards the 13 win number that would secure it a first round bye. That good fortune turned and turned quickly. Jared Abbrederis, Don Barclay, Colt Lyerla, BJ Raji and JC Tretter have all been lost for significant parts of the season. All five of these players were on my initial 53 man projection.
While I understand that including Colt Lyerla in that projection was partly wishful thinking and might have been a bit of a long shot, the other 4 players were virtual roster locks. 2 of those players were unquestioned starters at the time of their injury. I’m going to take a brief look at all of these injuries, what they mean for this season, what they mean for the big picture and what frame of mind these injuries should put Cheesehead nation in.
Jared Abbrederis- “Abby” tore his ACL in practice before even being able to step on the field in a preseason game. While it was unclear whether or not he was going to win the #5 receiver spot, it was clear that he was the leader for the punt return position. The loss of Abbrederis has more than likely thrust either starting safety Micah Hyde or starting wide receiver Randall Cobb into the punt return position. There is an outside chance that both the 5th receiver spot and the punt return spot can be taken care of by Jeff Janis, but the Saginaw Valley State product is very raw.
In the big picture this might not be so bad. One of the main concerns about Abbrederis following the NFL combine was a lack of upper body strength. As far as I understand there’s quite a bit from a strength and conditioning perspective that Abbrederis will be allowed to do in addition to his rehab. Getting into the Packers nutrition program and building up his strength for the NFL game for a season might be a positive. A torn ACL is never a good thing, but when Abbrederis comes back, if Randall Cobb is not re-signed, he could have a “starting” slot receiver position waiting for him.
How I feel about this:
Don Barclay- Don Barclay has played a lot of meaningful snaps for the Green Bay Packers in his 2 years with the team. He came on in late 2012 as an undrafted rookie and filled in quite well at tackle. A solid run blocker, Barclay was a welcome sight for those who aren’t a big fan of former tackle Marshall Newhouse. Barclay also brings the frame and attitude to slide inside and play interior line positions. It was made clear last season, however, that Barclay is not a starting caliber tackle. With Bryan Bulaga returning and Derek Sherrod as healthy as he’s going to be this is fine and Barclay was set to be a “super-sub”. His injury cost the team a lot of it’s depth and versatility. The Packers now have a backup center (who is now starting), a backup guard, and a backup tackle. None of those players appear to be able to play any other position on the line as of right now.
Long term, I’m not so sure this really affects anything. Even if Bryan Bulaga is not re-signed I don’t think the team has any designs on turning the right tackle job back over to Barclay. Don Barclay will be a restricted free agent next season and you can expect the Packers to bring him back into the fold. His place on this team as a jack of all trades backup is a secure one should he choose to accept it. I don’t think the offers from other teams of starting positions will come.
How do I feel about this:
Colt Lyerla- Lyerla was a personal favorite of mine. I understand that he did some really reprehensible stuff, I do. But I also watched him play at Oregon and understand that he is unequivocally the most talented athlete in the Packers tight end group. I want this to work out, but it appears that it is not going to. The Packers have waived Lyerla with an injury settlement. It does not appear that they will “keep him around” this season. With the emergence of Richard Rodgers the Packers appear to have a deep and diverse tight end group as it is.
As I’ve mentioned Lyerla’s future with the team is now seriously in doubt. It’s been speculated that by doing this the Packers are doing right by Lyerla. If he only has 6 or 7 weeks to rehab before he’s ready to help an NFL team then he should be able to do that. The Packers can’t put him on PUP because he passed his pre-camp physcal. Releasing Lyerla with an injury settlement makes it so a team can sign him. The only hope for this experiment from the eyes of a Packers fan is that Lyerla is not claimed by another team and is signed to the Packers practice squad in week 15 when he is eligible to rejoin Green Bay.
How do I feel about this:
BJ Raji- This was one of two injuries that a casual observer wouldn’t have thought was catastrophic during last Friday’s 3rd preseason game against Oakland. Raji left the game and Josh Boyd came in. The TV announcers listed it as an arm injury. I thought to myself, “those are never good”. Truth be told there aren’t usually a lot of minor “arm” injuries. In NFL terms “arm” injuries are either torn biceps or broken arms. Even with that thought process, though, I wasn’t prepared for the next day’s news that Raji would be lost for the season. Obviously this makes it much more difficult for the team to run it’s base 3-4. Unproven Josh Boyd and Mike Pennel and the largely ineffective (under the coaching staff of a bad organization) Letroy Guion are all that’s left at the nose tackle position. The Packers only used a nose tackle in the 3-4 defense on 22ish% of last year’s snaps.
Long term this makes it almost unlikely that Raji returns. He was given a one year “prove it” contract as the Packers move towards a lighter, faster front. Unless the run defense really struggles I have a hard time believing that BJ will be back. He’s always been one of my favorite personalities on the team and when he was good, man was he good. I had held out hope that that nose tackle would have come back this season, but I find it possible that he may never come back.
How do I feel about this:
With that said the Packers are almost exclusively in nickel and that is Datone Jones and Mike Daniels’ domain.
JC Tretter- Tretter has been more than passable as the team’s starting center during this preseason. Tretter missed no time in the 3rd preseason game but his leg began bothering him during his rest period as the second teamers played. It was later found out that Tretter might miss up to six weeks. Now Aaron Rodgers has to deal with yet another change at the center position. Rookie center Corey Linsley is going to have to more than likely start in Seattle and for the first few games of the season. Despite some optimism on his ability to play the position, it still has to be concerning for Packers fans.
I don’t think this injury is going to have much of an effect on the big picture for Tretter. It is very unfortunate that he is 0/2 on being able to make it to the season opener a healthy player during his career. With that said, unless Corey Linsley grabs this starting center job and never lets it go a la Mark Tauscher Tretter should remain in the Packers plans. Even if Linsley does that Tretter could certainly serve as a valuable backup at all interior positions in upcoming seasons.
How do I feel about this:
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Ross Uglem is a writer at PackersTalk.com.
You can follow Ross on twitter at RossUglem
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