The injuries are piling up for the Green Bay Packers during the stretch run, as they lost multiple players in the loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 16. Of all the injuries to occur during this tilt, the Packers losing another tight end for the year might be one of the biggest daggers of them all.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that Packers tight end John FitzPatrick tore his Achilles tendon and is done for the rest of the season. Green Bay already lost tight end Tucker Kraft for the year with a torn ACL, and now they have another wrench thrown into their offensive plans with FitzPatrick sidelined.
John FitzPatrick’s Injury Alters Packers' Offensive Plans
FitzPatrick was a rotational piece for the first nine weeks of the season, before seeing his playing time increase to over 57% of the plays from Weeks 11-15. The Packers are now tasked with finding a way to replace FitzPatrick, but the options are slim at this point. Josh Whyle is the only other tight end on the active roster, but he's in concussion protocol after getting one in the Week 15 loss to the Denver Broncos.
McCallan Castles and Drake Dabney are the other tight ends on Green Bay's practice squad. Neither player has made their NFL debut, but with the position group bare at this point, they may be elevated for the final stretch.
This is a challenging position for the Packers to be in, especially as they fight for a playoff spot. This flurry of injuries has forced Luke Musgrave into the TE1 role, which isn't something he's done in his career thus far. On the season, he has 24 catches for 252 receiving yards.
He will be asked to take on a larger role, but the Packers still need more bodies at tight end. This injury even led to speculation from Freddie Boston of LombardiAve suggesting that the team sign former Packer Marcedes Lewis off the Broncos' practice squad.
Although he's 41 years old, Lewis can still provide Green Bay with a savvy veteran while giving them a boost as a blocker. You can't expect much of anything in the pass game, but the Packers' situation is that worrisome.
They need to pull all the levers they can at this point to get some reinforcements in this room. FitzPatrick's injury was unfortunate, but the Packers need to find a way to replace him, as they had to do with Kraft. Head coach Matt LaFleur expressed on Sunday that he and Brian Gutekunst need to come up with a plan at tight end, but with their playoff chances hanging in the balance, they must get it together quickly.