Mizzou Left Tackle Cayden Green to Play Against Alabama, Per Report

Missouri's starting left tackle will give it a go against the Crimson Tide on Saturday.

Sept 20, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers left tackle Cayden Green exits the locker room in a boot ahead of the Missouri Tigers Week 4 matchup against South Carolina. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

Missouri Tigers left tackle Cayden Green will start on Saturday against the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide, per Pete Thamel of ESPN. Green's been out since Missouri's win over South Carolina on Sept. 20.

Sources: Missouri left tackle Cayden Green will return for the Tigers and start against No. 8 Alabama. Green is the top lineman for No. 14 Missouri, and he’s missed the past two games with a foot injury. Missouri has the SEC’s top rush offense with 292 yards per game. pic.twitter.com/p7dlw1Ed1H

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 11, 2025

At Tuesday's media availability with head coach Eli Drinkwitz, it was made clear that Green would be listed as questionable on the SEC injury report that came out on Wednesday. He remained questionable through Friday, with the hopes that he'd be ready to go with a good week of practice.

He did get some rehab reps yesterday," Drinkwitz told the media. "Really, the challenge will be to see where he is today and see how that progresses."

Following Missouri's win over South Carolina in Week 4 of the new season, Drinkwitz provided updates on the surprising injury of Green. He was a surprise addition to that week's injury report and it came out shortly before the game that Green would not play.

"We got an MRI Thursday night and decided that the best thing to do was to attack it, and so he underwent a minor medical procedure on Friday morning; he should be back as soon as he possibly can," Drinkwitz said. "It's not an end-of-season. It could be three weeks. It could be five weeks. We'll see."

Green was initially Missouri's starting left guard for all of the 2024-25 season and most of fall camp. He moved to left tackle at the end of fall camp in a surprising shake-up on the offensive line. Despite the change, Green is still an integral part of Missouri's offensive line.

"He's really well respected on this team," quarterback Beau Pribula said of Green. "One thing that I noticed when I first got here was how much everybody respects him. Not being able to go tonight, and still being there and showing his leadership, it's a lot for us. It helps us a lot. I know he'll continue to be a really good leader."

Green earned plenty of pre-season recognition and is arguably the most important player on Missouri's offensive line. He was named an AP pre-season All-American, among other things, before the 2025-26 season started. He's also considered one of the best offensive linemen for the upcoming NFL draft.

Missouri kicks off against Alabama at 11 p.m. on Saturday at Faurot Field. This is the first time two top-15 teams have played in Columbia since the 1979 season.