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Packers’ Top Offensive Lineman Ruled Out Ahead of Wild-Card Game at Bears
The hits keep coming for the Packers as they prepare for their wild-card round game at the Bears on Saturday.
Green Bay has lost a number of its most important players during the season. Superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons tore his ACL in December, tight end Tucker Kraft did the same midway through the season after establishing himself as the Packers’ go-to target in the passing game. The team’s top offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins is on injured reserve, as is cornerback Nate Hobbs and top defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt.
Many of those players would likely rank among the most important on the Packers’ roster, and Green Bay just lost another player from that shortlist for the upcoming game in Chicago: offensive tackle Zach Tom. With less than two hours before kickoff, he’s been ruled out for the matchup.
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Tom, a fourth-year player out of Wake Forest, has arguably been Green Bay’s top offensive lineman this season. Pro Football Focus ranks him No. 9 in the NFL among 90 qualifying offensive tackles, and he has the fifth-highest grade on the Packers roster among regular players, behind Parsons, Jordan Love, Christian Watson and Josh Jacobs.
Love is coming off of a concussion suffered in Week 16 against the Bears, and was held out of Green Bay’s final two games. Jacobs, one of the NFL’s most reliable running backs, has been clearly hampered by injury with just 39 total rushing yards in Weeks 16 and 17. He was also held out of the season finale.
Saturday night’s wild-card matchup may be tough sledding for the Packers against a very motivated division rival in Chicago. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET, with Amazon’s Prime Video carrying the broadcast.
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Dan Lyons is a staff writer and editor on Sports Illustrated's Breaking and Trending News team. He joined SI for his second stint in November 2024 after a stint as a senior college football writer at Athlon Sports, and a previous run with SI spanning multiple years as a writer and editor. Outside of sports, you can find Dan at an indie concert venue or movie theater.