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Even amid a 36-19 victory to open their preseason, it wasn’t all good news for the Green Bay Packers.
Head coach Matt LaFleur‘s tone in his post-game press conference Friday night appeared to indicate the worst for tight end Tyler Davis — and his fears came to fruition. He sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament against the Cincinnati Bengals, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
It’s a devastating blow to Rich Bisaccia’s special teams unit above all else, but the Packers were also in the process of featuring Davis more extensively on offense. He’s situated in a tight end room that’s in a transition phase, headlined by second- and third-round picks Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. Josiah Deguara, a 2020 third-round pick, is expected to be the Packers’ starting fullback.
“That’s going to be a pretty significant injury,” LaFleur said during the August 11 presser, essentially foreshadowing what was to come. “My heart hurts for him. He’s been a key contributor to our success over the last couple of years, whether it’s on teams or carving out a role in our offense.
“He’s a consummate professional, he’s a great teammate, just a great human. We’re going to miss him.”
Losing Davis Is a Critical Blow to Packers’ Special Teams
A sixth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Davis was waived following the conclusion of training camp in 2021 and landed with the Indianapolis Colts. His stay on their practice squad lasted roughly three weeks before the Packers signed him off of their practice squad and onto their active roster on September 28, 2021.
Over two seasons in Green Bay, Davis accumulated just 8 receptions while playing behind the likes of Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis and Deguara. The Packers allowed Tonyan and Lewis to enter unrestricted free agency, both ultimately signing with the Chicago Bears.
He’s never played more than 16% of the team’s offensive snaps in a season, though that could have changed this season given the inexperience at the position. On special teams, however, he was on the field for 64 and 81% of the snaps in 2021 and 2022, respectively, according to Pro Football Reference; he was a mainstay whose presence the Packers will have difficulty replacing.
No player on the roster played more special teams snaps than Davis in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus. He was tied for second on the team in special teams tackles alongside safeties Dallin Leavitt and Tariq Carpenter.
Packers Bruised & Battered in Preseason Opener
That wasn’t the only bad news for the Packers coming out of Paycor Stadium.
Offensive tackles Luke Tenuta and Caleb Jones both sustained injuries of their own with Tenuta needing to be carted off of the field. LaFleur didn’t have an update on either player.
Running back Tyler Goodson also exited the game with a shoulder injury and a source told Heavy that he was receiving X-rays as of Saturday morning. One of the Packers’ reserves at cornerback who was with the team last season, Corey Ballentine, also left the game in the fourth quarter with what the team described as a stinger (a nerve injury).
It’s not the worst-case scenario — the Packers have a month before the start of the regular season and all of their injuries occurred to back-ups. They still have two more exhibition contests to maneuver through — and practices in-between — so they’ll need the bodies.
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