Getty Ifeadi Odenigbo #95 of the Minnesota Vikings speaks to Lane Taylor #65 of the Green Bay Packers after Taylor was injured on a play during the fourth quarter of the game at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 13, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Packers defeated the Vikings 43-34.
The Green Bay Packers are placing starting right guard Lane Taylor on injured reserve with a season-ending knee injury.
Taylor was carted off the field during the fourth quarter of Week 1’s win over the Minnesota Vikings with a gruesome knee injury that caused both teams to fall silent. The 30-year-old veteran was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game and had an MRI the following Monday that confirmed he would miss the remainder of the 2020 season.
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovksy, the Packers moved Taylor to the injured reserve list on Tuesday and did not immediately fill Taylor’s open roster spot, leaving two spaces now available after wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown was also sent to IR on Saturday ahead of Week 2’s home game against the Detroit Lions.
Taylor had spent the offseason working back from a biceps injury that wiped out his 2019 season after two games and had even agreed to take a pay cut that ensured his place with the team for 2020. He impressed teammates and coaches alike with his comeback during this summer’s training camp and earned the starting job at right guard after playing on the left side for the majority of his career.
“My heart goes out to him,” LaFleur told reporters last Monday when he confirmed Taylor would miss the rest of the season. “Just battling back from the significant injury he had last year to get to a position where he was in our starting lineup, certainly he will be missed. I just 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 gave a great year.”
Taylor is now the fourth Packer to be placed on the injured reserve with St. Brown, fifth-round linebacker Kamal Martin and cornerback Kabion Ento all mending their own injuries on the list. The Packers also have sixth-round guard Simon Stepaniak and running back Patrick Taylor occupying their non-football injury list.
I just want to thank everyone for the love and support. It has been very encouraging. I can’t wait to be back on the field next year 🙏🏽🤟🏽
Taylor is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the upcoming offseason with just three games played in his past two seasons.
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Packers’ Offensive Line Not Done Changing
The Packers rolled with Lucas Patrick as Taylor’s replacement at right guard and saw enough to feel confident about his viability as a starter moving forward, but things are likely to be shaken up a few more times in the coming weeks as the Packers continue to nurse some injuries along their offensive line.
The ideal choice for right guard would be Billy Turner, who started every game at the position last year and was only kept from reprising his role in 2020 due to a need at right tackle, but he has been held out of the Packers’ first two games with a knee injury that continues to be a point of concern with him. Once healthy, Turner might also still make sense at right tackle for the Packers depending on their confidence in Rick Wagner.
There is also a chance the Packers could need to move Patrick to center in place of Corey Linsley, who injured his snapping hand during Week 2’s win over the Lions and is currently carries an uncertain status into Week 3’s prime-time road game against the New Orleans Saints. If that were the case, it would almost certainly mean more playing time for sixth-round rookie Jon Runyan Jr., who has been clutch for the Packers as an injury replacement thus far.
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