Green Bay Packers: How will they handle Bryan Bulaga’s Absence?
By Paul Bretl
It looks like Bryan Bulaga is going to miss some time, so what will the Green Bay Packers do to replace him on the offensive line?
It’s been a relatively healthy year for the Green Bay Packers’ right tackle Bryan Bulaga who has played in 81 percent of the offensive snaps this season. However, during the San Francisco game, he would leave with a right knee injury in the first half.
While that is the same knee that Bulaga tore his ACL during the 2017 season, fortunately for him and the Green Bay Packers, it was a much less severe MCL sprain this time.
#Packers RT Bryan Bulaga is believed to have an MCL sprain, source said. He’ll have an MRI to determine how long he’s out, but it’s nothing major. Most importantly, the ACL was spared.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 25, 2019
Last year Bulaga tore his MCL and missed two games in December, and he could very well miss a game or two this season. We all know how important the tackle position is in the NFL, so how will the Packers handle Bulaga’s potential absence?
Well, I see there being two main options. The first being what we saw in San Francisco with Alex Light taking over at right tackle. Although he has limited regular season reps in his short career, during training camp and the preseason he has shown flashes that he could be a tackle in this league.
With that said, he still has to refine his skill set as he’s allowed 10 pressures this season in just 97 pass-blocking attempts. And his matchup on Sunday night against Nick Bosa went as you’d expect. Luckily for Light and the Green Bay Packers, their next two opponents – the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins – have a much less formidable pass rush than San Francisco if they do decide to go with Light in Bulaga’s absence. This will also give them a better idea of what they have in Light.
But while this is one option, it sounds like the Green Bay Packers could be going with another. In his press conference on Monday, Matt LaFleur said “we have some other ideas” when he was asked about how they would handle Bulaga’s absence.
These “other ideas” that LaFleur alluded to likely means Billy Turner taking over at right tackle and my guess is that Lucas Patrick – who has taken 65 snaps this season – will be at right guard. For a larger sample size, Patrick took 208 pass-blocking snaps in 2018 and didn’t allow a sack, but he did give up 13 pressures according to Pro Football Focus.
In my opinion this is the better option. For one, I just think the combination of Patrick and Turner will be more effective than Turner and Light. Not to mention that this will be a great opportunity for the Green Bay Packers to see what Turner can do at right tackle.
When Turner was signed this past offseason to his four year – $28 million contract, with his versatility many thought that the Packers’ long-term plan was to have him take over at right tackle if needed, given the uncertainty around Bulaga’s future in Green Bay since he is in the final year of his deal.
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Over his career Turner has been much better as a guard than as a tackle and with how well Bulaga has been playing this season, at just 30-years-old, I think Green Bay should bring him back. But this will be a great chance for them to see what they have in Turner at right tackle and as I mentioned earlier, at least Bulaga’s potential absence is coming with two lesser opponents on the schedule.