Packers Suffer First Major Blow with Taylor Lost for Season

Veteran guard Lane Taylor, who battled back after a season-ending injury last year, suffered a major knee injury at Minnesota on Sunday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – From 2016 through 2018, guard Lane Taylor missed only two of a possible 48 games for the Green Bay Packers.

Now, he’ll spend most of a second consecutive season on injured reserve.

Taylor sustained a season-ending knee injury during the second half of Sunday’s blowout win over Minnesota.

“It’s significant, obviously,” LaFleur said on Monday. “My heart goes out to him. Just battling back from the significant injury that he had last year and to get to a position where he was in our starting lineup, certainly he will be missed. I feel bad for him as an athlete, as a man. It takes a lot to come back from a significant injury and he put the time in and put himself in a great position to have a great year. It’s always tough to see when somebody goes down.”

Taylor started the first two games of last season before suffering a torn biceps at practice. In his absence, Elgton Jenkins put the left guard position on lockdown. Rather than release Taylor in a cost-cutting move this offseason, the Packers reworked his contract, moved him to right guard and gave him a chance to start.

“We looked at all of our options and felt like Green Bay is the best spot for me,” Taylor said during training camp.

Taylor scored a decisive victory over Billy Turner and started his fifth consecutive season opener.

“Lane’s a proven player in this league,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said during camp. “Obviously, it was unfortunate that he went down early last year, but he’s got a lot of starch under his belt. He’s been in the fire. He’s somebody you can rely on, so we want to keep all those kinds of players here. There’s obviously some limitations and restrictions on us from a financial part that we always have to look at, but we’re glad he’s here. We think he can help our football team.”

Taylor played 63 snaps on Sunday before going down on a running play with about 12 minutes remaining in the game. Unofficially, he didn’t allow any pressures in approximately 35 pass-protecting snaps.

Rookie Jon Runyan played the final 12 snaps. He could be in line to start on Sunday against Detroit. Or, perhaps Turner will be back from the knee injury that sidelined him at Minnesota.

“Coach Steno (offensive line coach Adam Stenavich) gives us a speech about guys having to be ready and you have to prepare every week like you’re going into the game to play, because if you’re coming into the game and you’re not prepared, you’re on national television, you’re in the spotlight, everyone is going to see, and you’re affecting everybody else, all other 10 guys that are out there,” center Corey Linsley said. “In regards to rallying, whatever happens, happens. But we feel for him, man, he had a hell of a camp, he was playing well. We hope it’s nothing serious, but we feel for him at this time and do everything we can to support him.”

Taylor will be a 31-year-old free agent in March.

Lucas Patrick, who started at left guard with Jenkins moving to right tackle, suffered a shoulder injury and exited in the second quarter after 32 snaps. A source said Patrick checked out OK and could be ready for Detroit.