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GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers finished the season with 18 players on reserve injured lists.
Some say they would have been Super Bowl contenders if a few of them – Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft, Devonte Wyatt and Elgton Jenkins, to name a few – would not have suffered season-ending injuries.
Kraft is one of them.
“If I’m betting on myself I’m going all in,” Kraft said. “One of the best players in the NFL on defense, Micah Parsons, like, yes, I do think that things would be completely different had we not lost him in the Broncos game. I’m not even going to speak of myself because we lost so many weapons.
“Elgton Jenkins, Devonte Wyatt, like excuse after excuse you could say, but like this team, we had so many weapons dialed up, loaded up, and we lost them.”
The Packers will be missing a lot of players during offseason conditioning, but some will be back for training camp.
Here’s a roundup of some of some of the injuries that were part of the 2025 season:
After he injured his right knee against the Denver Broncos, right tackle Zach Tom underwent tests and found out he had suffered a partially torn patellar tendon in his right knee. A fully torn patellar is a devastating injury and can result in a player missing an entire calendar year.
Tom said he received a platelet rich plasma injection in hopes it would help the tendon heal, but it didn’t help. He said he could have played but he was having trouble pass protecting and was at risk to suffer a fully torn patellar.
“I’m leaning toward surgery because I just want to get it over with, move on,” Tom said. “I think it’s like six months (recovery).”
Tom said he wanted to help the team as it headed into the playoffs, but when he practiced he couldn’t take on bull rushes the way he needed to when it came to pass protection. After seeing Carolina tackle Ickey Ekwonu and Chicago tackle Ozzy Trapilo tear their patellar tendons in the playoffs, he knew not playing was the right decision.
“It was probably one of the hardest decisions I had to make in my life,” Tom said. “Obviously, you want to be out there in the playoffs because that’s when you know everything’s at stake. But I just don’t think I was in position (to play).”
In the midst of the best season of his career, Devonte Wyatt had his left ankle fallen on by teammate Warren Brinson and suffered a broken fibula and a torn ligament at Detroit. Wyatt had two screws put in his ankle and said he will take the entire offseason to recover.
The ligament tear is the worse of the injuries and will require the longest time to heal.
“It could be longer it could be shorter, it just depends on how the recovery goes,” Wyatt said. “I should be back by training camp.”
Wyatt said he felt he was on the verge of a Pro Bowl year when he got hurt and was especially pained that he couldn’t play in any of the three games against the Chicago Bears. He said getting a chance to be a starter and being able to play multiple positions on the defensive line was the biggest difference for him.
“I played a lot more this year,” he said. “It made me a lot more comfortable being on the field so long. You see what (teams) are trying to do. We had Chicago the next week, I was ready for that. That ticked me off so bad. But we’ll be back.”
Wyatt is under contract for one year at around $14 million guaranteed. He said he hadn’t talked to his agent about whether there have been negotiations on an extension, but he said his thought now is that he would play the deal out and see what happens after next season.
Cornerback Nate Hobbs was almost in tears as he described his 2025 season.
It was nothing as expected after signing a four-year, $48 million free agent contract. Hobbs expected to be a starter at one of the outside corner positions, but he kept getting injured.
It started in training camp when he tore the meniscus in his right knee and underwent surgery Aug. 2. He missed the season opener and then started the next five games. He wasn’t playing at the level the Packers hoped, but was starting to get healthy when he injured his left knee against Carolina.
This injury was a sprained MCL and it sidelined him for four games. He returned to play in the first Bears game and had probably his best performance of the year. Coordinator Jeff Hafley said Hobbs added a physical presence in that game and was looking forward to him progressing.
But a week later he collided with Ravens receiver Zay Flowers in the end zone and reinjured his left knee, suffering another MCL sprain.
“I wouldn't wish this on nobody what I had to go through,” Hobbs said. “But I can honestly say now I'm getting to the point where I'm glad it happened. It's made me a better person, a better leader, a better man, and I know if I get kicked back to nothing, rock bottom, I know I could get it back, every time.
“At the end of the season, I was starting to come back alive, be myself.”
Hobbs said he knows he took a lot of criticism from the public but he said the public didn’t get to see what he can add to the Packers and he vowed they would see it next season.
“It’s just a part of it, and I understand,” Hobbs said of the criticism. "As a fan, you give your heart and your soul to this ride, so when somebody’s not performing up to what you thought, you can be like, ‘Hey, what’s going on, man?’
“But my message to Packers nation, I don’t think you guys got to see a fair version of Nate Hobbs. I think you got to see the version of Nate Hobbs that God chose this season to teach me what he had to teach me.”
He added later, “I promise you guys I will be one of the best players on this defense.”
Cornerback Kamal Hadden was on the verge of playing a much bigger role on defense when he decided to lower his shoulder and tackle Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry.
Hadden was in the game because cornerback Carrington Valentine was not tackling well, but he was doing what he normally does as one of the team’s biggest corners. But his ankle got caught underneath him and got twisted in such a violent way that he broke both the tibia and fibula in his right leg.
Hadden is still using a knee coaster to get around and said he’s hopeful to be back next season, although it may not be in time for the season opener.
“It’s a pretty bad injury,” Hadden said. "They said it’s a four- or five-month recovery, but I’m just taking it one day at a time, just coming in (for rehab). The main thing now is to elevate my leg and that’s what I do most of the time. Elevate and ice it in the cast and take it a day at a time.”
Hadden said he was in shock after the injury and when he looked at the way his foot was bent said it really hit him that something bad had happened. Though he has a long recovery ahead, Hadden said he would try to make that tackle again if it comes up.
“It’s sad that it happened like that, but it was a routine play,” he said. “That’s what I was coached to do, my job, and I’d do it again. It just was an unfortunate play where I just got caught up under and got rolled up on.”
Coach Matt LaFleur said Hadden was the most improved player on the roster from training camp to the season and Hadden said he felt he made strides.
“I grew and I showed my even more than I thought I could do,” Hadden said. “I just got better. And it gives me anticipation that I can go even further, the more work I put in. This injury has just helped me lock in more. I’m hurt right now, but I’ll be back 100%.”
Bo Melton injured his ankle against the Minnesota Vikings and was put on injured reserve soon after.
Melton is walking around without too much of a limp and said he was told it would take him about a month to recover. If the Packers had made the Super Bowl, he might have been able to return, but he said he wasn’t expecting any delay in his return next season.
Melton was listed as a cornerback after being moved there in the offseason but he wound up playing mostly at receiver. When asked if he was going to ask to be moved back to receiver, he said he didn’t want to talk about that right now.
When he asked if there would be time for that discussion with the coaches, he said yes.
Center Sean Rhyan got hit on the side of his knee as he was anchored in the ground late in the playoff loss to the Bears. He said he thought he had suffered a serious knee injury because he was in an enormous amount of pain.
He said the scan he underwent showed only a bruise, although there was a lot of swelling.
“It was a full shock to my body and I just went down,” Rhyan said. “That was the first time that ever happened. That’s why I was a little bit worried. It was just one of those bad ones.
“I got a good bone bruise and a lot of swelling and inflammation. They said it might be hyperextended, too. I would have done my darnedest to be out there (next week), but I guess we’ll never know.”
Rhyan is an unrestricted free agent and he said he doesn’t know what the future will bring. But he said he wasn’t going to let it weigh on him.
“It will be what it will be,” he said. “I’m going to try to get my knee back to 100% as fast as possible so I could get back to training for next year.”
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Devonte Wyatt expects to be back for training camp, more injury updates
Continue reading...
Some say they would have been Super Bowl contenders if a few of them – Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft, Devonte Wyatt and Elgton Jenkins, to name a few – would not have suffered season-ending injuries.
Kraft is one of them.
“If I’m betting on myself I’m going all in,” Kraft said. “One of the best players in the NFL on defense, Micah Parsons, like, yes, I do think that things would be completely different had we not lost him in the Broncos game. I’m not even going to speak of myself because we lost so many weapons.
“Elgton Jenkins, Devonte Wyatt, like excuse after excuse you could say, but like this team, we had so many weapons dialed up, loaded up, and we lost them.”
The Packers will be missing a lot of players during offseason conditioning, but some will be back for training camp.
Here’s a roundup of some of some of the injuries that were part of the 2025 season:
Right tackle Zach Tom tried to play through patellar tear, will undergo surgery soon
After he injured his right knee against the Denver Broncos, right tackle Zach Tom underwent tests and found out he had suffered a partially torn patellar tendon in his right knee. A fully torn patellar is a devastating injury and can result in a player missing an entire calendar year.
Tom said he received a platelet rich plasma injection in hopes it would help the tendon heal, but it didn’t help. He said he could have played but he was having trouble pass protecting and was at risk to suffer a fully torn patellar.
“I’m leaning toward surgery because I just want to get it over with, move on,” Tom said. “I think it’s like six months (recovery).”
Tom said he wanted to help the team as it headed into the playoffs, but when he practiced he couldn’t take on bull rushes the way he needed to when it came to pass protection. After seeing Carolina tackle Ickey Ekwonu and Chicago tackle Ozzy Trapilo tear their patellar tendons in the playoffs, he knew not playing was the right decision.
“It was probably one of the hardest decisions I had to make in my life,” Tom said. “Obviously, you want to be out there in the playoffs because that’s when you know everything’s at stake. But I just don’t think I was in position (to play).”
Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt expects to be back for the start of training camp
In the midst of the best season of his career, Devonte Wyatt had his left ankle fallen on by teammate Warren Brinson and suffered a broken fibula and a torn ligament at Detroit. Wyatt had two screws put in his ankle and said he will take the entire offseason to recover.
The ligament tear is the worse of the injuries and will require the longest time to heal.
“It could be longer it could be shorter, it just depends on how the recovery goes,” Wyatt said. “I should be back by training camp.”
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Wyatt said he felt he was on the verge of a Pro Bowl year when he got hurt and was especially pained that he couldn’t play in any of the three games against the Chicago Bears. He said getting a chance to be a starter and being able to play multiple positions on the defensive line was the biggest difference for him.
“I played a lot more this year,” he said. “It made me a lot more comfortable being on the field so long. You see what (teams) are trying to do. We had Chicago the next week, I was ready for that. That ticked me off so bad. But we’ll be back.”
Wyatt is under contract for one year at around $14 million guaranteed. He said he hadn’t talked to his agent about whether there have been negotiations on an extension, but he said his thought now is that he would play the deal out and see what happens after next season.
Cornerback Nate Hobbs vows he will return and be a factor in the Packers defense
Cornerback Nate Hobbs was almost in tears as he described his 2025 season.
It was nothing as expected after signing a four-year, $48 million free agent contract. Hobbs expected to be a starter at one of the outside corner positions, but he kept getting injured.
It started in training camp when he tore the meniscus in his right knee and underwent surgery Aug. 2. He missed the season opener and then started the next five games. He wasn’t playing at the level the Packers hoped, but was starting to get healthy when he injured his left knee against Carolina.
This injury was a sprained MCL and it sidelined him for four games. He returned to play in the first Bears game and had probably his best performance of the year. Coordinator Jeff Hafley said Hobbs added a physical presence in that game and was looking forward to him progressing.
But a week later he collided with Ravens receiver Zay Flowers in the end zone and reinjured his left knee, suffering another MCL sprain.
“I wouldn't wish this on nobody what I had to go through,” Hobbs said. “But I can honestly say now I'm getting to the point where I'm glad it happened. It's made me a better person, a better leader, a better man, and I know if I get kicked back to nothing, rock bottom, I know I could get it back, every time.
“At the end of the season, I was starting to come back alive, be myself.”
Hobbs said he knows he took a lot of criticism from the public but he said the public didn’t get to see what he can add to the Packers and he vowed they would see it next season.
“It’s just a part of it, and I understand,” Hobbs said of the criticism. "As a fan, you give your heart and your soul to this ride, so when somebody’s not performing up to what you thought, you can be like, ‘Hey, what’s going on, man?’
“But my message to Packers nation, I don’t think you guys got to see a fair version of Nate Hobbs. I think you got to see the version of Nate Hobbs that God chose this season to teach me what he had to teach me.”
He added later, “I promise you guys I will be one of the best players on this defense.”
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Cornerback Kamal Hadden will need time to overcome gruesome injury suffered against Baltimore
Cornerback Kamal Hadden was on the verge of playing a much bigger role on defense when he decided to lower his shoulder and tackle Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry.
Hadden was in the game because cornerback Carrington Valentine was not tackling well, but he was doing what he normally does as one of the team’s biggest corners. But his ankle got caught underneath him and got twisted in such a violent way that he broke both the tibia and fibula in his right leg.
Hadden is still using a knee coaster to get around and said he’s hopeful to be back next season, although it may not be in time for the season opener.
“It’s a pretty bad injury,” Hadden said. "They said it’s a four- or five-month recovery, but I’m just taking it one day at a time, just coming in (for rehab). The main thing now is to elevate my leg and that’s what I do most of the time. Elevate and ice it in the cast and take it a day at a time.”
Hadden said he was in shock after the injury and when he looked at the way his foot was bent said it really hit him that something bad had happened. Though he has a long recovery ahead, Hadden said he would try to make that tackle again if it comes up.
“It’s sad that it happened like that, but it was a routine play,” he said. “That’s what I was coached to do, my job, and I’d do it again. It just was an unfortunate play where I just got caught up under and got rolled up on.”
Coach Matt LaFleur said Hadden was the most improved player on the roster from training camp to the season and Hadden said he felt he made strides.
“I grew and I showed my even more than I thought I could do,” Hadden said. “I just got better. And it gives me anticipation that I can go even further, the more work I put in. This injury has just helped me lock in more. I’m hurt right now, but I’ll be back 100%.”
Bo Melton said he suffered a four-week injury and will be OK
Bo Melton injured his ankle against the Minnesota Vikings and was put on injured reserve soon after.
Melton is walking around without too much of a limp and said he was told it would take him about a month to recover. If the Packers had made the Super Bowl, he might have been able to return, but he said he wasn’t expecting any delay in his return next season.
Melton was listed as a cornerback after being moved there in the offseason but he wound up playing mostly at receiver. When asked if he was going to ask to be moved back to receiver, he said he didn’t want to talk about that right now.
When he asked if there would be time for that discussion with the coaches, he said yes.
Center Sean Rhyan suffered a bone bruise in his knee, thought the injury was much worse
Center Sean Rhyan got hit on the side of his knee as he was anchored in the ground late in the playoff loss to the Bears. He said he thought he had suffered a serious knee injury because he was in an enormous amount of pain.
He said the scan he underwent showed only a bruise, although there was a lot of swelling.
“It was a full shock to my body and I just went down,” Rhyan said. “That was the first time that ever happened. That’s why I was a little bit worried. It was just one of those bad ones.
“I got a good bone bruise and a lot of swelling and inflammation. They said it might be hyperextended, too. I would have done my darnedest to be out there (next week), but I guess we’ll never know.”
Rhyan is an unrestricted free agent and he said he doesn’t know what the future will bring. But he said he wasn’t going to let it weigh on him.
“It will be what it will be,” he said. “I’m going to try to get my knee back to 100% as fast as possible so I could get back to training for next year.”
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Devonte Wyatt expects to be back for training camp, more injury updates
Continue reading...
