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Bulaga gets three-year deal with the Chargers

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Bryan Bulaga

Bryan Bulaga had spent his entire career with the Green Bay Packers, after being drafted in the first round back in 2010.  On Tuesday, Bulaga agreed to a three-year, $30-million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Bulaga started 111 of his 115 games, having gone through a pair of ACL injuries in 2013 and 2017.

The Packers counted on Bulaga’s leadership during his time in Green Bay.  They’ll now look to veterans David Bakhtiari and Corey Linsley for some of that responsibility.

The Packers did sign tackle Rick Wagner, the former Badger from West Allis, to replace Bulaga.  Wagner has started 87 of his 102 games and was released by the Detroit Lions in a cost-cutting measure.

Packers linebackers headed to the Big Apple

The Packers signed free agent linebacker Christian Kirksey to and have now seen two of their own head to New York. [Read more…]

Martinez, Graham land deals elsewhere

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Blake Martinez

With the Green Bay Packers adding free agent inside linebacker Christian Kirksey on Monday, former Packers linebacker Blake Martinez is headed elsewhere.

Martinez has received a three-year deal from the New York Giants, worth $30 million.

Martinez was a fourth-round draft pick by the Packers out of Stanford in 2016.  Martinez has collected at least 140 tackles in each of the last three seasons and hadn’t missed a game since his rookie season.

Tight end Jimmy Graham, released after two seasons in Green Bay, got a two-year, $16 million deal from the Chicago Bears.  Graham caught just five touchdown passes during his two seasons in Green Bay.

NFL Draft will go forward as scheduled

The NFL Draft is going ahead as scheduled, but without public events in Las Vegas.  The draft will take place April 23rd through the 25th and will still be televised.  NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says they are exploring innovative options for how the process plays out.

The NFL is putting its offseason workouts on hold.  Roger Goodell says the league and players union have agreed to indefinitely delay the start of team workouts.  Prospective free agents are also not allowed to travel to meet with teams or vice versa.

 

Packers put Greene on I.R.

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The Green Bay Packers have lost one of their most flexible defenders when they placed safety Raven Greene in injured reserve on Monday.

Greene left Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings with an ankle injury and needed to be carted off the field.  It’s expected that he’ll need surgery and miss a couple of months.  He is eligible to return from IR in eight weeks.

The second year safety spent much of his time as an extra defensive back that lined up in the box as an inside linebacker.  Greene was a replacement for injured linebacker Oren Burks.

Burks isn’t expected to return yet this week against Denver and the Packers will be thin on the inside without Greene.

Greene played more than half of his snaps in the opener against the Bears, in the box.  Against the Vikings, he spent most of his team at linebacker.

Packers make roster moves

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Packers return to practice on Sunday.

With a couple of practices left before Thursday nights preseason finale against Kansas City, the Green Bay Packers made some roster moves.

The Packers had three roster spots open and claimed inside linebacker Nicolas Grigsby, who has played in 23 games in four NFL seasons, mostly as a special teams performer.

It’s possible Oren Burks could be back for the season opener against the Chicago Bears, but it’s unlikely he would play a lot after missing time with a chest injury.  Curtis Bolton had been playing in Burks place but suffered a knee injury in last Thursday’s game against the Raiders in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Blake Martinez is the starter at one inside linebacker spot and rookie Ty Summers and first-year pro Brady Sheldon remain as the top options if Burks can’t return in time.

The Packers also signed a pair of undrafted rookie free agents, linebacker James Folston and defensive back Jocquez Kalili.

Folston has had short stints with Arizona and Tennessee before joining the Packers.  Kalili signed with Jacksonville on May 12th and was released on August 4.

Burks may not need season ending surgery

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Oren Burks (Photo Mike Clemens)

When second year linebacker Oren Burks suffered a pectoral injury in last Thursday’s win over Houston, he thought he was headed for surgery, effectively ending his season.

Burks however, received a second opinion this week and was told surgery wouldn’t be necessary, allowing him to return at some point this season.  It likely means the Packers won’t have to put Burks on injured reserve.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst indicated on Tuesday that Burks might not be out that long.  Gutekunst said he wasn’t thinking about adding an inside linebacker because he didn’t think it was necessary.

“We’ll get him back here quicker than I think, but right now, I’d just kind of like to get through this next game and kind of see where we’re at, see where Oren’s at,” said Gutekunst.

Curtis Bolton has been filling in at Burks’ weakside linebacker position with the number one defense.  Rookie Ty Summers is working behind starter Blake Martinez at the other starting linebacker spot.

 

Packers health changes in one weekend

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Bryan Bulaga hopes to be ready by Sunday.

A week ago, the Green Bay Packers had all 53 players on their roster available to face the Los Angeles Rams.  It’s as healthy as they’ve been during the middle of a season in recent memory.  That all changed after a trip to New England.

Wide receiver Geronimo Allison saw core injury specialist William Meyers in Philadelphia and could be facing surgery, which would force him to miss at least 3-4 weeks.

Defensive back Kevin King suffered a hamstring injury against the Patriots.  Coach Mike McCarthy said King will be “hard pressed” to play Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

Linebacker Blake Martinez and safety Kentrell Brice are both dealing with ankle sprains and right tackle Bryan Bulaga is dealing with a knee injury.  The Packers feel Bulaga dodged anything series and will be given the week to determine his playing status for Sunday.

Packers add safety

The Packers claimed safety Ibraheim Campbell off waivers from the New York Jets on Monday.

The Cleveland Browns drafted Campbell out of Northwestern in the fourth round of the 2015 draft.  He played under Mike Pettine with the Browns and wound up starting 11 games over three seasons.  After being cut by the Browns in 2017, Campbell spent time with Houston, Dallas and the New York Jets.

 

Ryan out for the season

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Jake Ryan

Green Bay Packers linebacker Jake Ryan suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in practice on Monday and will miss the rest of the season.

Ryan, who is in the final year of his contract in Green Bay, also tore his right ACL when he was in college at the University of Michigan.  He will earn his base salary of $1.907 million for this season.

Ryan was set to start in the Packers base defense, now Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine will have to find an alternative.  Pettine has used a number of players during practice this week, including Quentin Rollins, Josh Jones and Jermaine Whitehead and rookie Oren Burks in the dime package.

On Tuesday, general manager Brian Gutekunst said he had no plans to replace Ryan with a veteran.  He wanted to see how Burks and the other young players do in Camp.  Ahmad Thomas, Greer Martini and Naashon Hughes have all shown flashes in the first week.

Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine was asked on Wednesday how me might replace Ryan.  Pettine said, “Well, certainly we have experience in a guy that was very productive last year in Blake.  We have the rookie, O.B. (Burks), who has looked good at times.  Still, the transition from the college game to the NFL, it takes some time.

“It’s tough for those guys to come in, and it overwhelms them a little bit at first.  And especially now, we’re working off the entire inventory.  And once we get to game plan situations, we really cut it down.  That’s going to help a lot of our guys that have a lot of stuff running through their head.

“Ahmad Thomas has flashed, certainly, some coverage ability in the days so far.  And then we have some other, younger guys.  We’ll see how it plays out.  It’s a big loss.”

Packers have a tough day on Monday (AUDIO)

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Jake Ryan

Less than a week into training camp, the Green Bay Packers have already suffered what appears to be at least their first major injury.

Linebacker Jake Ryan went down during an 11-on-11 drill, grabbing his knee in pain.

Blake Martinez spoke with Ryan right after practice and said the linebacker was devastated.

The Packers didn’t release any information on Ryan’s injury.  He’ll undergo an MRI today, to determine the seriousness of the injury and just how long he’ll be out.

Next up behind Ryan is rookie Oren Burks, who has played all of the positions in the first week of training camp.

Safety Kentrell Brice also was carted off with a leg injury and defensive end Mike Daniels left with early but said he’ll be OK.

The Packers will return to the practice field on Tuesday.

AUDIO: Blake Martinez says Ryan was devastated after practice :12

AUDIO: Blake Martinez says they have to step up :22

 

 

Martinez out 2 to 4 weeks

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Blake Martinez

Blake Martinez

The Green Bay Packers may be forced to move Clay Matthews back to inside linebacker after losing rookie starter Blake Martinez.

Martinez is expected to miss two to four weeks with an MCL sprain to his left knee, an injury that he suffered late in the Packers 42-24 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday night.

The Packers finished the game Sunday with Joe Thomas and Carl Bradford manning the inside.  Bradford has just been signed off of the practice squad earlier in the week. [Read more…]

For some rookies, it’s back to school

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Kenny Clark getting ready for rookie orientation workout

Kenny Clark getting ready for rookie orientation workout

After spending the weekend in Green Bay at the Packers’ Rookie Orientation, first round draft pick Kenny Clark and a few of his teammates have returned to school.

NFL rule prohibits Clark, along with fellow rookies Trevor Davis and Kyle Murphy from sticking around in Green Bay.  Clark goes to UCLA, Davis goes to California and Murphy attends Stanford.  All three are quarter system and the NFL says rookies can’t take part in team activities, other than the rookie camp, until their schools are out of session in early June.

Fourth round pick, linebacker Blake Martinez from Stanford, is allowed to remain with the Packers because he has already earned his degree. [Read more…]