Oren Burks’ injury could leave Packers scrambling for Plan B
The Green Bay Packers no doubt are preparing for the worst with inside linebacker Oren Burks, who potentially suffered a torn pectoral during Thursday’s preseason game against Houston.
“Honestly, I don’t really know anything right now. It’s kind of wait and see. But I hope not,” coach Matt LaFleur said when asked if there was long-term concern.
While all injuries are different, this one could alter the Packers’ season. In 2017, 49ers linebacker Malcolm Smith suffered a torn pectoral during a training camp practice and missed the entire season. In 2017, Chicago’s Jerrell Freeman suffered a torn pectoral in the season opener and spent the rest of the year on injured reserve. In 2018, the Bears lost Sam Acho for the final 12 games of the season with a torn pectoral.
Standout veteran Blake Martinez and Burks, a third-round pick last season, were expected to be the starting tandem. The Packers have exactly no proven depth at the position. Not that Burks was a proven commodity, either. He played only 122 defensive snaps last season, with only 18 snaps over the final eight games.
James Crawford is the only other player with NFL experience on defense – and it’s not much. An undrafted free agent last year, he emerged as a top player on special teams but played just one snap on defense. Crawford has spent most of camp paired with undrafted rookie Curtis Bolton on the second-team defense. Another option is seventh-round rookie Ty Summers, who had 10 tackles against the Texans. The final inside linebacker on the roster is Brady Sheldon, who played a couple games on special teams as an undrafted rookie in 2017 with the Raiders.
“Young guys that still have a lot to learn” was LaFleur’s assessment. “I thought Ty did some really good things the other night. He’s just got to keep continuing to push through because when he got tired, he missed some tackles. Same with Bolton. There were a couple times we brought him on some blitzes where he was able to make the back miss or whatever, but you’ve got to finish plays. Same with Brady. He had the pick that was gifted to him and he’s got to finish the play. So, all three of those guys they’ve showed some flashes, some good things but they’ve got to finish.”
On Saturday, Martinez and Burks formed the No. 1 tandem while Summers and Sheldon worked with the 2s. Summers and Sheldon had interceptions. Of Summers’ seven tackles vs. running backs on Thursday, six resulted in gains totaling just 11 yards. Then again, he missed four tackles, by our unofficial count. Bolton, who is more athletic than Summers but lacks his stout physique, made two impressive coverage plays against the Texans. At 6-foot-5, Sheldon has the size to disrupt passing angles.
“More disappointed with the ones that got away from me,” Summers said after the game. “That’s kind of a bad habit of mine. It’s good because then I’m going out there and I want to hone on the little details. I want to be perfect but, at the end of the day, I can’t let my last play, last mistake affect my future play. That’s something I’m going to continue to grow on. You can’t let one missed tackle become two. So, yeah, I’ll look back at it and be like, ‘Hey, there’s things I need to fix.’ I’m going to work through those in my mind and figure out ways I could’ve done better. At the end of the day, it’s over now. I’m looking forward to next week.”
Last summer, when Jake Ryan suffered a torn ACL early in camp, general manager Brian Gutekunst went out and signed Antonio Morrison. Depending on the final prognosis of Burks’ injury, Gutekunst could be looking to the free-agent market again. Or, he could stick with what he’s got and have defensive coordinator Mike Pettine liberally utilize a safety as the second inside linebacker – something he did frequently last season. When Pettine went that route on Saturday, Raven Greene was the first choice, followed by Josh Jones. Ibraheim Campbell, who was re-signed on Thursday, played that role last season before suffering a torn ACL.