GREEN BAY \u2014 While All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons and emerging star tight end Tucker Kraft\u2019s season-ending knee injuries were undeniably major reasons for the Green Bay Packers\u2019 late-season collapse, their torn anterior cruciate ligaments weren\u2019t the only catastrophic injuries that factored into the team\u2019s downfall.<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s best offensive lineman, right tackle Zach Tom, going down in the same game as Parsons \u2014 a Dec. 14 loss to the Denver Broncos \u2014 with what turned out to be a partially torn patellar tendon certainly didn\u2019t help matters.<\/p>\n
Tom, who missed the Packers\u2019 final five games (including their season-ending NFC first-round playoff loss to the rival Chicago Bears) with the injury, said after the loss to the Bears that he wasn\u2019t sure if he would undergo surgery for the injury, but general manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed Tuesday during his annual pre-draft Q&A session with reporters that Tom did indeed have the surgery.<\/p>\n
Tom said in January that he\u2019d been told it would be a six-month recovery, meaning he won\u2019t be able to do much during organized team activity practices next month and won\u2019t be fully cleared for the start of training camp in late July.<\/p>\n
Gutekunst suggested Tuesday that Tom is on track in his recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s doing well,\u201d Gutekunst said. \u201cWhenever you lose guys like Zach Tom, you have to adjust \u2014 and I thought we did a nice job doing that. But fortunate for him, he’ll be ready to roll as we get going. I’ll give him a lot of credit, man. He fought his tail off to try to finish it out and I’m very appreciative of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the comeback trail | Gutekunst said he was unsure of whether Parsons would be doing his offseason rehabilitation work in Green Bay moving forward after primarily rehabbing in Dallas after his post-season surgery.<\/p>\n
In fact, Gutekunst was so up to his eyeballs in draft preparation that he said he wasn\u2019t even sure if Parsons reported with the rest of the players for Monday\u2019s first day of the offseason program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in the cave. So the guys that got in yesterday, I couldn\u2019t even tell you who\u2019s here or who\u2019s not,\u201d Gutekunst admitted. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s all voluntary. I haven\u2019t seen him yet; it doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s not here. To be honest with you, I think I\u2019ve seen about four players since they got in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Ness awaits fifth-year fate | Speaking of players Gutekunst had not yet spoken with, the GM said the team is \u201cworking through\u201d what they plan to do with 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness and whether they will pick up the fifth-year option on the edge rusher\u2019s rookie contract.<\/p>\n
The Packers have until May 1 to decide whether to exercise it or decline it. If they decline it, Van Ness will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.<\/p>\n
Future considerations | Gutekunst intimated that part of the reason the team was willing to trade wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles \u2014 beyond getting a fifth-round pick for him in next week\u2019s draft and a sixth-rounder in 2027 \u2014 was that with fellow wide receivers Christian Watson and Jayden Reed also heading into the final years of their contracts, Wicks\u2019 long-term future in Green Bay was cloudy.<\/p>\n
\u201c[We\u2019re] excited about the opportunities some of these guys are going to get,\u201d Gutekunst said. \u201cIt\u2019s always tough to move off of a player that you feel is as good as Dontayvion was for us. I think he\u2019s got a really bright career ahead of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation we were in with the amount of players that we had in that room, what we\u2019re probably going to do in the future, him being in the last year of his contract, it just made a little bit of sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t sure exactly how [he] was going to fit into our future plans, [so] it just made a lot of sense. I do think it was good for us, and I think it\u2019s going to be good for Dontayvion, too, because he\u2019ll see his opportunities increase there.\u201d<\/p>\n
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