Shortly after Oren Burks, a key starting linebacker, suffered a shoulder injury during warm-ups, the Green Bay Packers swiftly made a trade to bolster their linebacker corps.
The Packers completed a trade with the Indianapolis Colts, acquiring experienced linebacker Antonio Morrison in exchange for cornerback Lenzy Pipkins. Both teams officially announced the deal on Sunday.
Head coach of the Packers, Mike McCarthy, expressed his thoughts on the acquisition, stating, “Antonio is an experienced linebacker. If you look at the youth of the group, it’s something we felt we needed to add.”
Burks, a third-round draft pick from Vanderbilt, had stepped into the starting lineup following an injury to Jake Ryan during training camp. However, Burks suffered a shoulder injury just before a game, leaving a gap in the team’s defensive lineup.
McCarthy mentioned that the need to bolster their linebacker depth was evident even before Burks’ injury, which turned out to be less severe than initially feared and not expected to keep him out long-term.
“It’s a position that we wanted to add experience to. And definitely [we have] some young guys there that we feel good about,” McCarthy added.
With Ryan on the injured reserve list, Blake Martinez was the only linebacker with NFL experience on the Packers’ roster. The team had to rely on undrafted rookie Greer Martini as a stand-in for Burks and also called up practice squad member Ahmad Thomas to fill the gaps.
While Burks dealt with his shoulder issue, running back Ty Montgomery left the game on Friday due to a foot injury but reassured that he was not seriously hurt. The team remains concerned about the health of Kyle Murphy, who had started at right tackle against the Steelers.
