Matt LaFleur Defended by All-Pro Ex-Bears TE After Javon Hargrave Suffers Injury

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GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 11: Head coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers looks on before a game against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on October 11, 2026 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

On what should have been a day of great celebration, Green Bay Packers head coach has  managed to draw fans’ ire once again after what many believe to be a costly error of judgement.

Coming out of the two minute warning ahead 31-7 – clearly in “garbage time” with the game more than wrapped up, Packers starting nose tackle Javon Hargrave suffered an injury whilst shedding a block, pulling up limping a few seconds after the play ended before going to the ground and ultimately getting carted off by the training staff.

Javon Hargrave Carted Off with Less Than Two Minutes Left

Some analysts suggested that Hargrave might have torn his Achilles.

Mark Oldacres

@MarkOldacres · Follow

I think Hargrave just did his Achilles too. It’s legitimately unbelievable.

4:02 pm · 11 Oct 2026

17 Reply Copy link Read 3 replies

Whilst fans online attacked head coach Matt LaFleur for not resting the starters in case of injury, color analyst and former All-Pro and Bears tight end Greg Olsen, who noted that with the limited size of game-day rosters, one can only pull so many players from the game.

“You never like to see anybody ever get hurt. But certainly in a 24-point game, fans will say, ‘Alright it’s a blowout, take everyone out’. This isn’t college football, I don’t have 110 guys on the sideline in uniform. I only have 25 or 27 defensive guys in uniform give or take.” Olsen said on the broadcast in the direct aftermath of the injury.

Greg Olsen Defends Matt LaFleur Not Pulling Javon Hargrave

Indeed, the Packers had only 24 players on defense for the Bears game.

Although one can argue that Hargrave as a veteran and player that has already struggled with injuries early on this season should have been a high priority to be rested, this season in 2026 has shown anyone can get injured, and it’s possible that LaFleur and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon wanted to protect their younger players whom the team have a vested, long-term interest in.

The Packers will be hoping that the injury is not as serious as it looked for the former All-Pro nose tackle, especially with the team currently missing 16 players with injury after just 5 games of the season.