Update: Bigby will indeed have surgery on Friday, according to Pro Football Talk. He’s expected to miss a few weeks.
Green Bay Packers safety Atari Bigby, who has been sidelined since the start of training camp with an ankle injury, could require surgery, according to Brad Biggs.
Bigby, who injured himself in a conditioning test before the start of camp, saw a specialist in North Carolina this week and a source told Biggs it’s possible the safety could require arthroscopic surgery. If that’s the case, Bigby will be out for an extended period of time and can probably kiss his starting job goodbye.
Rookie Morgan Burnett has been filling in with the No. 1 defense and by most accounts, has looked both poised and impressive.
This is the latest in what seems like a comedy of errors for Bigby. He stayed away from the Packers offseason program in hopes of getting a long-term deal that never materialized. He had his restricted free agent tender reduced by the team on June 15 and ended up losing $59,500 because of his refusal to sign by that date.
After listening to all the praise heaped on Burnett during offseason workouts Bigby signed his tender, which will pay him $1,699,500, and reported to training camp on time, only to be injured before it even started. On top of that, the coaching staff was reportedly angry with him for being out of shape.
It’s like Bigby wanted to star in his own Keystone Kops film.
Not exactly the way you want to start a year that should run deep into the playoffs.
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Last updated on October 7th, 2015 at 02:40 pm
Or maybe he gritted his teeth, came to camp on a bum ankle, ran a couple of laps and started limping. Perhaps he was looking for a long term deal even more so because he knew he had a bad wheel.
Looks a little funny getting hurt during a conditioning test.
Anyway, he had a good year and was better than Mark Roman. We all hope he can return to his former self, but I for one am glad we drafted Burnett.
I have to wonder if Thompson will try to trade some of of his TE, FB or ILB depth for a serviceable backup at Safety. I know he will preach his wait and see approach, but he should do it early.
Otherwise I have to worry that they are going to repeat last preseason. They gave a huge chunk of reps to Anthony Smith, and then dumped his ass for someone who didn’t know the system. Then when they get dinged up against Cinncy they have to play Derrick Martin and Jarrett Bush at Safety. Then, everyone wonders how they got rolled over.
any suggestions for available safety candidates to trade for? And who would you get rid of?
Hawk is too expensive to trade. Bishop is unproven and unlikely to command much. Chillar is too versatile to give up. Who’d want Poppinga?
I think the best bet to trade would be the OL that loses the battle between Colledge and Spitz. Yet to have a quality backup is a nice luxury to have.
For TE’s, Havner wouldn’t command much. Neither would Lee.
The problem with trading for secondary help is that the Ravens have already picked over the group who has 3-4 experience. And, the Bears and Cards have picked over the rest. Which unfortunately is why I see Thompson “staying the course”, and seeing if someone losses a player or two in preseason and will pay more. Again the problem with waiting is reps. And if the replacement is needed, we’ve all seen how that works out.
Giacomini reportedly is an enormous beast in pads so far in training camp, so If the Spitz/College loser went that would make Lang and Deitrich-Smith the inside backups. That should be OK. McCarthy wants Lang inside anyway.
I think Lee is still a starting TE for some teams, especially ones who need run blocking and could command a solid back up type SS in return. The drawback there is that Lee is a willing Special Teams player, and a mentor to some of the younger guys on offense.
After peeking around, the Bills have a lot of holes that match the Packers excesses and a wealth of depth at both Safety positions.