Packers: Lucas Patrick in Concussion Protocol Could Shake Up OL

In terms of injuries from the Green Bay Packers Week 1 opener against New Orleans, we knew that Josiah Deguara left the game at one point, as did Darnell Savage.

According to Matt LaFleur on Thursday, Savage, who suffered a shoulder injury, will get the week to try to get ready for the team’s Monday night game against Detroit. Meanwhile, Deguara is still in concussion protocol.

However, there’s one more injury that may have flown under the radar compared to the other two, which is that left guard Lucas Patrick also finds himself in concussion protocol.

We didn’t see Patrick come off the field, and someone takes his place because the concussion that he sustained occurred on Green Bay’s final offensive play of the game, as Rob Demovsky of ESPN notes.

Patrick was coming off a quiet yet effective 2020 season where he lined up at both guard positions and allowed just three sacks and 16 pressures during the regular season, according to PFF ($$). He was also reliable against the run, ranking 31st out of 86 guards in overall grade.

This summer, along with several other players, he found himself in a battle for the starting guard openings. He, along with rookie Royce Neman were eventually named the starters against the Saints.

While admittedly, there was a negative play or two from his performance that sticks out, overall, Patrick was steady for the most part. Per PFF, he allowed no sacks and three pressures. He wasn’t great by any means, but he wasn’t bad either.

It’s nearly impossible to gauge whether or not Patrick will be ready for Monday’s game, but if he isn’t, then one would think that second-year player Jon Runyan will be the next man up for the Packers.

Runyan flashed some potential in a small sample size last season, allowing zero sacks in 81 pass-blocking snaps. He was also a part of that training camp battle at guard this summer, where he made the final roster, but as a backup.

Ben Braden and Cole Van Lanen were two other players who saw ample snaps at guard during training camp; however, both players also find themselves on the practice squad.

Another option is if the Green Bay Packers feel comfortable enough with Dennis Kelly at right tackle — where he has almost 2,200 career snaps — then perhaps they would consider moving Billy Turner inside.

With LaFleur always talking about putting the best five offensive linemen on the field, if Patrick can’t go, this decision will come down to what is the better overall combination—Turner at guard and Kelly at tackle? Or Runyan at guard and Turner at tackle?

If I had to make a guess, I would venture to say that Runyan gets the nod, that way the Packers can keep their current two best tackles at the tackle position, given it’s importance—but as we’ve seen under LaFleur, he isn’t afraid to mix and match along the offensive line.

For now, we will wait and see how this unfolds, but for the time being, Patrick’s status for Week 2 appears to be up in the air, and if he can’t go, an offensive line that already has two rookies starting along the interior, will see more movement.