Packer Central

Shoulder Injury Sidelines Rookie Jordan Morgan

First-round pick Jordan Morgan, who had pulled ahead in the battle to be the starting right guard, suffered a shoulder injury at Tuesday’s practice.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Jordan Morgan.
Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Jordan Morgan. / Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ first-round draft pick, offensive lineman Jordan Morgan, will miss Saturday’s preseason opener with a shoulder injury.

“It’s nothing long term,” coach Matt LaFleur said before Wednesday’s practice, “but he’s going to be out probably for a week or so.”

Morgan, a three-year starter at left tackle at Arizona, had supplanted Sean Rhyan as the starter at right guard.

“I think there’s, like most of these guys, some good, some bad and a lot to learn from,” LaFleur said of Morgan’s camp. “But we’re excited about the talent; you can see the talent there. I think it’s just making sure he gets the adequate number of reps so it’s second nature and there’s a lot less thinking going on. But I feel like he’s competed well. He just needs to continue to learn and improve.”

That learning and growing has hit a bump in the road, though. Morgan was on the field for the start of Tuesday’s practice. He went through individual drills before following a trainer inside the Don Hutson Center during the first 11-on-11 period.

LaFleur said “it doesn’t appear” the injury will sideline Morgan for the Week 1 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Without Morgan, Rhyan moved back in with the No. 1 line on Tuesday and presumably will be there throughout the week as well as Saturday’s game at the Cleveland Browns.

Linebacker Quay Walker also didn’t finish practice on Tuesday. LaFleur wasn’t concerned, though.

“Just being smart with him,” LaFleur said, echoing what Walker said after practice on Tuesday.

As he watched from the sideline, rookie Ty’Ron Hopper stepped in at middle linebacker between veterans Eric Wilson and Isaiah McDuffie.

“I think he’s coming along fine,” Walker said of Hopper, a third-round pick. “Just growing each and every day. It’s the only thing you can ask for. He’s getting better, trying to find the small things he can get better at, whether they be on the field or off the field, but I think he’s growing each and every day.”

LaFleur said he challenged Hopper after Family Night. According to LaFleur, Hopper started strong but faded as fatigue set in.

“It’s a little bit of a gut check to make sure you can stay present and make sure you’re still playing with good fundamentals, technique, the right assignments,” LaFleur said. “Yesterday I thought was probably one of his best days. I thought he responded really well.”

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, tight end Tucker Kraft practiced for the first time during training camp and right tackle Zach Tom took his first 11-on-11 reps of the summer. In both cases, those were giant steps in their comebacks from torn pectorals.

Tom was thrown right into the fire with snaps against star defensive end Rashan Gary. Kraft went through run-blocking drills, ran routes and caught passes from Jordan Love.

“It’s great that I get to see him two weeks ahead of me,” Kraft said. “Really, that’s what our times are. So, in two weeks, I’ll be doing full team sessions, as well. Like I said, the end goal is Brazil, and that’s what we’ve got our mind on.

“We’re just going to keep building. It’s not like I’m going to be in individual for the rest of camp and then I’ll play in Brazil. It’s a ramp-up period of the next few days, and then the next two weeks I’ll just get more and more and more and more into the offense. As far as comfortability with my injury, I’m confident. I feel safe, I feel strong, God gave us all the ability to endure and that’s what I’m doing right now.”

Asked if second-round linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (hip) and second-year cornerback Carrington Valentine (hamstring) are close to returning, LaFleur said “not quite.”

With their defensive end depth chart hit hard by injuries – Kingsley Enagbare missed Family Night and Tuesday’s practice with a hamstring injury – the Packers signed Zach Morton on Tuesday.

More Green Bay Packers Training Camp News

Latest news and analysis: Zach Tom is back | Packers sign DE | Tucker Kraft on his comeback | Takeaways from first depth chart | Rookie Ty’Ron Hopper adjusting to NFL | Roster projection 2.0 | Week 2 medal winners | Week 2 stock report | Quarterback released | New outlooks for Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks | Javon Bullard looking smooth =Kicking competition enters next phase | Eric Wilson vs. Edgerrin Cooper | Rookie progress report

Training camp highlights:Practice 11 | Family Night | Practice 9 | Practice 8 | Practice 7 | Practice 6 | Practice 5 | Practice 4 | Practice 3 | Practice 2 | Practice 1

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.