The Green Bay Packers were already thin at inside linebacker with the season-ending injury to Jake Ryan. They just got thinner. Rookie Oren Burks will miss week 1 and possibly more games with a shoulder injury.
The good news is the injury isn’t season-ending.
The #Packers already lost Jake Ryan for the season, and now it’s likely that LB Oren Burks (shoulder) will miss the opener, I’m told. Could miss a week or two after that. But not nearly as serious as originally feared.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 31, 2018
This, along with the desire to add another veteran, is certainly why the Packers traded for Antonio Morrison. This also increases the chances that Ahmad Thomas makes the final roster.
I had all three, along with Blake Martinez on my final roster.
While it appears Burks will be the Packers’ No. 1 coverage linebacker, his loss for a few weeks isn’t crippling. Thomas can easily fill that role. The same could be said for Martinez, although I would prefer to have Martinez playing the run and Thomas in coverage.
It’s unclear what role the Packers are going to put Morrison in. He’s more of a straight-ahead, smash into some guys linebacker. In other words, not real speedy. Like Ryan, not really a guy you want in coverage.
If things get real dicey, the Packers can always line up Clay Matthews on the inside. He played the position well in both 2015 and 2016. That would give the Packers an opportunity to see what Reggie Gilbert can do on the outside in an actual meaningful game.
In short, there are plenty of options to fill Burks’ shoes.