The Green Bay Packers dropped 13-10 to the Cleveland Browns, and in the process, OT Zach Tom left the game after he re-aggravated his oblique injury. After the game, head coach Matt LaFleur said the team made the wrong decision to play him and is now dealing with the ramifications.
And while it looks like Tom is going to miss time, the Packers made an addition to the OL room. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Packers are signing OT Brant Banks to the 53-man roster off the practice squad.
Packers Signed Brant Banks to 53-Man Roster
This move likely indicates that Tom won't be taking the field, and they wanted more depth at the position. In the loss to the Browns, Green Bay had Jordan Morgan replace Tom, a position he had never played. And it showed on the field. According to PFF, he finished with one of the lowest grades on the team at 40.7.
The Packers had Morgan take snaps at both guard spots and left tackle, but it's clear that right tackle isn't a good fit. Green Bay has already used Anthony Belton and Darian Kinnard at right tackle this season and will likely roll with one of them on Sunday.
Nonetheless, having Banks around is a smart choice. It's never bad to have more than enough bodies on the offensive line. Banks signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent in May. In 51 college games (26 starts), 12 of them came at right tackle.
In 50 preseason snaps with the Packers this summer, Banks had a 76.8 overall grade, 89.1 pass-blocking grade, and a 69.3 run-blocking grade on PFF. Despite being released on cutdown day, he was re-signed to the practice squad and was now signed to the active roster. Whether or not he gets on the field remains to be seen, but the Packers made sure to have him there just in case.
LaFleur stated that Tom didn't suffer any setback with his injury, but leaving the game wasn't a good sign of his recovery. The Packers will take things slow with him this time around and allow him to be 100% before suiting up again.
Thankfully, it's early in the season, and that gives Tom time to rehab in order to return to the field. It'll be interesting to see who the starter will be, but Banks is another name they'll consider.