The Green Bay Packers could be without star running back Josh Jacobs for the next three weeks, as he undergoes surgery to repair a fractured finger he suffered in the Packers’ Week 9 win over the New England Patriots.
Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports that the team is expecting him to miss at most three weeks. However, he might not be ready for the team when they play the Minnesota Vikings in Week 10.
“Packers standout running back Josh Jacobs is set to undergo surgery on his injured finger this week and is expected to miss a maximum of three weeks, sources tell CBS Sports,” tweeted Zenitz.
Matt LaFleur will address the media later on Wednesday. He confirmed after the game that Jacobs fractured his finger, but did not have a timeline to return.
Green Bay Packers Could Miss Josh Jacobs For 3 Weeks
Jacobs went for a stiff arm against safety Craig Woodson, and his finger bent back. He ran to the locker room and popped his finger back into place. However, he had issues gripping the football on the sideline. So, the team decided to sit him out for the rest of the game.
LaFleur noted after the game that the team would try to find ways for him to grip the ball. However, now it appears the best path is to give him some time off and let him heal.
This is poor timing for Jacobs, considering it was in the first quarter of his third game back. More than that, the Packers are expected to be in the market for a running back at the NFL trade deadline. The timeline will not calm their nerves around the position.
Packers Have Problems at Running Back
The running back room has been a problem all season. It started with Josh Jacobs on the commissioner’s exempt list after he got into a domestic dispute that ended in misdemeanor charges.
The team ended up starting MarShawn Lloyd for the first couple of games, but he was ineffective. His success rate is below 40%. They tried to work in Kaleb Johnson, whom they added during roster cuts. However, Johnson fumbled in week 4 and started to see his snaps reduced.
The team ended up making Johnson inactive in the two weeks that Jacobs came back from the exempt list. However, Lloyd was ineffective as a backup, so the team ended up calling Johnson back up, making him active for their Week 9 game against the Patriots.
Johnson took the lead in the game against the Patriots, but he had only 14 carries, and the team did not trust him to close out the game.
Pierre Strong and Chris Brooks are just passing-down backs.
If Jacobs is set to miss time, the team does not have the trust between Lloyd and Johnson to avoid making a move. So, Jacobs could end up coming back to a share of the backfield, or even a bigger reduced role.
Packers Get Troubling Josh Jacobs Injury Update