Last week, rookie guard Jordan Morgan had been spotted at practice with a sling on his injured right shoulder. Now, it became clearer that it really is a serious injury.
During Matt LaFleur’s podcast with Matt Schneidman, the Green Bay Packers head coach revealed the rookie is out for the remainder of the season.
The problem
Morgan had been handling a shoulder injury since training camp. However, he started the first Detroit Lions game in Week 9 at left guard, when Josh Myers missed the week and the Packers were forced to move Elgton Jenkins to center.
After that, the first-rounder aggravated his shoulder injury at practice ahead of the Chicago Bears game in Week 11, right after the bye.
The Packers used the 25th overall pick in this year’s draft to select Jordan Morgan with the idea that he could play both tackle and guard spots.
After moving him around throughout OTAs and early in training camp, the Packers decided to establish Morgan at right guard in his rookie season to allow his specific development.
Morgan rotated with Sean Rhyan at right guard in five games this season — Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars. Then, he started against the Lions at left guard.
The impact
Without Jordan Morgan, the Packers lose their best backup interior offensive lineman. Over the last few weeks, the team hasn’t used any reserve IOL on the 48-man active gameday roster. Center Jacob Monk is the only option on the 53-man roster and has been inactive. When needed, the Packers moved tackles Kadeem Telfort and Travis Glover inside.
Recently, the Packers also signed veteran guard Michael Jordan, who started most of this season’s games at left guard for the New England Patriots, and he’s on the practice squad alongside rookie Donovan Jennings as depth pieces.