Burks ‘really excited’ to avoid surgery

The second-year linebacker believes he might be able to play in a couple weeks

Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Oren Burks confirmed that he’ll be able to play this season – and perhaps soon – after suffering a partially torn pectoral muscle during the preseason opener against Houston.

“Most of the time with pec injuries, you’re pretty much done for the season,” Burks said after Tuesday’s practice. “I was praying that it would be something else and it ended up being some great news. I’m really excited.”

The Packers are excited, too, for a couple reasons. One, they were counting on Burks to be a starter. And second, there is precious little depth behind Burks on the depth chart.

Torn pectorals generally require season-ending surgery. In 2017, 49ers linebacker Malcolm Smith suffered a torn pectoral during a training camp practice and missed the entire season. In 2017, Chicago’s Jerrell Freeman suffered a torn pectoral in the season opener and spent the rest of the year on injured reserve. In 2018, the Bears lost Sam Acho for the final 12 games of the season with a torn pectoral.

For Burks, it’s “only” a partial tear. After getting multiple opinions, the hope is time and toughness will get Burks back on the field this season.

“It was a matter of how I was recovering and looking at the scar tissue,” Burks said. “It’s starting to scar up pretty well. I’ve just got to get my strength back up and mobility, so trying to bite away at it during rehab every day.”

For obvious reasons, Burks was reluctant to put a timetable on his return. He did say it would be “a couple weeks” rather than months. If that’s the case, Burks probably will stick on the 53-man roster rather than heading to injured reserve.

As part of Burks’ rehab, he’ll focus on strengthening the surrounding muscles to take the strain off the pectoral. Still, taking on blocks and tackling ball-carriers sounds particularly challenging for a player with a pectoral injury, whether it’s partially torn or fully torn.

“That’s where the harness is going to help out a lot, because it restricts me from getting too far out from my body,” he said. “During that week of practice, making sure I feel comfortable with everything I need to do as a linebacker with shedding blocks and that kind of thing. It’s all how it feels on a week-to-week basis.”

This was a key training camp for Burks, a third-round pick last year who entered his rookie season with high hopes. After missing the first two games with a shoulder injury, Burks played 81 snaps in his first four games. Burks, however, was banished to the bench for the second half of the season. Even while starting the Week 17 game against Detroit, Burks played a paltry 18 snaps during the final eight games. For defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, it was practically anybody but Burks when filling out his personnel packages. Safeties fresh off the street got snaps while Burks was stuck on the sideline.

To maximize Burks’ potential, new inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti spent the offseason practices focusing on Burks’ eyes in hopes of getting the talented defender to play faster.

“You lock into what your reads are,” Burks said in describing that process. “There’s little tendencies you can kind of pick up from coaches. Coach K.O. has really been helping out with that, and Blake (Martinez), as well, in terms of you might be able to get a template for something like this. It’s little things like that that kind of help you anticipate plays instead of reacting. On top of that, discipline, going through a checklist in your mind, ‘All right, this is what I’ve got on this play. This is where my eyes are. This is how it’s going to help me.’ Whether he goes back or forward, that type of thing.”

While Burks’ camp was short-circuited by the injury – he missed the final nine practices of training camp – he said he made strides in that area.

“I’m excited, man,” Burks said. “It’s going to be a good year.”