Just when you thought the Packers’ offensive line situation couldn’t get worse, another injury gets thrown into the mix. Center Sean Rhyan, who left Green Bay’s Week 7 loss in Detroit with an apparent injury, has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain.
Usually, high ankle sprains require a stint on the IR to recover from, with an average timeline of four to six weeks. For a big fella like Rhyan, it could take up to two months to return to normal, and even then, high ankle sprains have a pesky tendency to linger. This is all conjecture for now, but it does speak to a larger issue that Green Bay is facing this season.
The Packers' offensive line was already in trouble and just lost its anchor in the middle. This group already ranked dead last in Pass Block Win Rate (31%) and, according to Sharp Football Analysis, had the lowest time to throw at 2.5 seconds before a Week 7 loss in which they didn't help their case. And that's not to mention their abysmal run blocking, with the second-lowest rushing stuff rate in the NFL (24.6%). Now, a unit that was already struggling is without one of its most important players.
So now that they're bracing to be without Rhyan too, we need to start resetting our expectations for the rest of this season.
The injury to Sean Rhyan could have bigger ripple effects on the Packers' season than initially expected.
If there's one thing you can't afford if you want to make a Super Bowl run, it's ugly offensive line play. Without proper protection, an entire offense can fall apart at the seams instantly, and while quarterback Jordan Love is doing his best Aaron Rodgers impression and keeping the Packers alive despite it, he can only take the team so far without time to operate.
Rhyan has been stuck in the middle of the pack in his position ranking so far this season, rated 22nd out of 35 qualified players in overall grade for his position by PFF. He's been better in run coverage than pass coverage, but that doesn't matter much considering the rest of the line hasn't been any more satisfactory in that category.
The Packers still rank last in rushing yards per game (59.9) and are the only team with a yards-per-rush average below 3 (2.9). In fact, only one other team is below 3.5 yards per rush — the 3-4 Las Vegas Raiders.
This is all just supporting evidence to say that this offensive line was already quite bad, and it just lost one of its most important players for what we can only expect will be a month or longer. And with the Packers stuck at the bottom of the NFC North, it's worth considering whether this will wind up another lost season, or a transition year until Green Bay can cobble together a healthy lineup and passable offensive line through the draft and free agency.
Maybe Rhyan's injury won't be as serious as it seemed, and he'll play a pivotal role on an improved line down the stretch. But that's beginning to feel like a lost cause, as has this Packers season.
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