The Packers got a little more good news on the injury front Thursday, and this time it came with Sean Rhyan.
While Micah Parsons’ return to practice gave Green Bay a lift, Matt LaFleur also delivered an encouraging update on Rhyan’s ankle injury. The center left early in the Packers’ Week 7 loss to the Detroit Lions, and the situation got messier fast when his replacement, Jacob Monk, later suffered a calf injury that eventually landed him on injured reserve. John Williams, a former seventh-round pick, ended up filling in for both spots and turned in a promising showing.
Even with that stopgap solution, Green Bay clearly wants Rhyan back as soon as possible. The team signed him to a three-year, $33 million extension this offseason, and Thursday’s update suggested the Packers believe that return is still on the table without a long wait.
LaFleur said the team will keep Rhyan on the active roster instead of moving him to injured reserve, a strong sign the Packers think his absence won’t stretch deep into the schedule.
“Some good news on the injury front. Sean Rhyan likely not headed to IR, per Matt LaFleur. Still expected to miss games, but it should be less than four,” NFL insider Rob Demovsky wrote.
That timeline matters. A high ankle sprain usually costs players four to six games, so if Rhyan is back before missing four, he’d be beating the standard recovery window. The earliest possible return could come in Week 10, which would give him a shot to get back on the field before Green Bay’s Week 11 bye.
That bye may be part of the reason the Packers chose this route. By not placing Rhyan on injured reserve after Week 7, they’ve kept the door open for him to return by the Week 12 game against the Los Angeles Rams at the latest. Had he gone on IR, that matchup would have been off the table too.
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