GREEN BAY — Matt LaFleur doesn’t think the Green Bay Packers’ medical staff has become less conservative when it comes to clearing players for game action, but the Packers head coach admitted Monday that injured right tackle Zach Tom should never have played in the team’s 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Tom, who suffered an oblique injury in the Sept. 7 opener against the Detroit Lions and missed the Packers’ Sept. 11 win over the Washington Commanders, had been listed as questionable going into the game but was active and started against the Browns—only to come out after playing only the first offensive snap.

Tom had expressed concerns on Friday about whether he should play or not against the Browns, acknowledging that he wasn’t 100% but believing his team needed him against the Browns’ top-tier defensive line, led by perennial All-Pro Myles Garrett.

“Obviously, the long-term does play a part into it, but [expletive], I want to be out there,” Tom said then. “But it’s kind of like two sides pulling against each other. Because I want to be out there, but I also want to be able to play well.

“And I think the biggest thing is just going to be, am I confident? And, how bad is the pain? It’s just weighing the options and going from there.”

Tom was visibly upset when he went to the sideline.

A tough moment for Packers player Zach Tom who is on the sideline due to injury. pic.twitter.com/N780Qs57gX

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 21, 2025

LaFleur said Monday that the issue was that the practice environment didn’t give Tom an accurate gauge on whether he could play in a game with the injury.

“I would chalk it up to it’s hard to simulate what these guys are going to go against in the game,” LaFleur explained. “We did our best in terms of trying to put them through enough and certainly had them going in practice. But still, the game’s a different speed.

“You’d have to ask him, but I think that the force of the guy that he’s going against, it hurt him. He didn’t feel like he could go.”

LaFleur said Tom did not aggravate the existing injury and did not experience a setback in his recovery. After next Sunday night’s road game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, the Packers have their bye week in Week 5, which would give Tom two weeks to heal.

This marked the second time in a year that a player has been active for a game only to come out after playing sparingly. Last season, cornerback Jaire Alexander was dealing with a knee injury and suited up for a game at Chicago, only to come out after 10 snaps when his knee didn’t feel right.

Asked if the team may need to reconsider its return-to-play protocols to prevent players from suiting up when they shouldn’t, LaFleur said he didn’t think so.

“Every situation is a little bit different,” LaFleur said. “I’m confident in our guys [on the medical staff]. I think they do a great job. They’re thorough. Certainly, the players [have] a say-so in the return to play as well, in terms of their confidence level.

“First and foremost, you have to be cleared medically, and we never want to put a guy out there who could potentially have a setback.”

Meanwhile, LaFleur said tight end Tucker Kraft, who was questionable for the game with a knee injury he suffered in practice on Thursday but wound up playing 57 of the Packers’ 65 offensive snaps (88%), was no worse for wear.

“I think it says a lot about him just in terms of the competitor that he is,” LaFleur said of Kraft playing. “I think he’s feeling good.”

LaFleur said safety Javon Bullard is in the concussion protocol while defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, who left the game late with what appeared to be a knee injury. 

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