The Green Bay Packers secured a massive win on Thanksgiving with an underdog victory in Michigan against the Detroit Lions.
However, one small asterisk on the Packers’ big win, which sees them remain right in contention for the NFC North, came with the injury to defensive tackle, Devonte Wyatt.
Wyatt suffered an ankle injury in the second half of the win against Detroit, and after much speculation from both the team and NFL insiders, a decision has been made and head coach, Matt LaFleur, confirmed Wyatt will not return for the rest of the season.
Packers Without A Major Piece For The Rest Of The Season
“Matt LaFleur confirms Devonte Wyatt (ankle) is out for the season.” The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman wrote on Monday.
Whilst certainly being devastating news for both the team and the fanbase, this will – unfortunately – not come as much of a surprise.
“Packers DL Devonte Wyatt, who was carted off in yesterdayâs win over the #Lions, suffered a fractured ankle, per me and Tom Pelissero.” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport posted the day after the game on Black Friday.
This echoed LaFleur’s comments directly after the game – in which the seventh year head coach said that the injury “does not look good”.
“It does not look good, guys. I’m sick for him. I’m sick for us,” LaFleur said after the game on Thanksgiving. “That’s a critical loss for our football team, for our defense, obviously. I can’t say enough great things about him in terms of just watching him mature not only as a football player but as a person. I have a lot of love for Devonte Wyatt, and I think the whole locker room does too.”
The Packers Will Severely Miss Devonte Wyatt
After the offseason departure of long-time veteran nose tackle, Kenny Clark, who left for the Dallas Cowboys as part of the blockbuster Micah Parsons trade back in late August, the Packers have become ever more reliant on Wyatt to anchor the middle of the defensive line.
Since having a quiet rookie season, Wyatt has come on substantially and shown considerable improvement every additional year he has spent in the league.
The former Georgia man was forming a strong partnership at defensive tackle with former forth round pick, Colby Wooden, and sixth round pick, Karl Brooks.
And despite Wyatt’s relatively weak grade from Pro Football Focus – 52.9, which ranks him as the 94th out of 128 qualifying DT’s – both the eye test and LaFleur’s broader comments on his play demonstrate the far different reality of him having an excellent season when on the field.
In Wyatt’s absence, fellow Georgia alum and rookie undrafted free agent nose tackle, Nazir Stackhouse, will look to plug the gap in the run game if Karl Brooks remains sidelined with an ankle injury – with the smaller, more nimble Wooden likely taking on further pass rushing duties at the 3-technique spot.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Matt LaFleur Delivers Crushing Update On Star Defensive Tackle appeared first on Heavy Sports.