DETROIT – Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt suffered significant ligament damage in his left ankle and likely is lost for the season.
The medical staff was focused on a suspected ligament tear and not an ankle fracture, according to a source. He will return to Green Bay and undergo tests to confirm the injury and see what other possible damage might have been done.
Wyatt’s lower leg was rolled into during the fourth quarter of the Packers’ 31-24 victory over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Nov. 27. He writhed in pain as the medical staff treated him and it took several minutes before he was moved to a cart and taken off the field.
“It doesn’t look good, guys,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “I’m sick for him. I’m sick for us. I mean, that’s a critical loss for out football team, for our defense, obviously. And I can’t say enough great things about him in terms of just watching him mature, not only as a football player, as a person.
“I’ve got a lot of love for Devonte Wyatt, I think the whole locker room does, too. So, it’s a little bittersweet.”
Wyatt is the Packers’ best interior defensive lineman and will be hard to replace. Wyatt played a big role in helping the Packers hold Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs to 68 yards on 20 carries. He had four tackles, including one for loss.
He ranks third on the team with four sacks.
The Packers were also without injured defensive tackle Karl Brooks and used a combination of rookies Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse to help fill the void.
The Packers also were without defensive end Lukas Van Ness, who has been dealing with a foot injury for the past month and was held out of the game after playing a handful of snaps the week prior against the Minnesota Vikings.
If Van Ness gets healthy, he’ll be able to fill some of the interior pass rush the Packers will miss without Wyatt, but probably only on third downs. Brooks, Brinson and Stackhouse will have to pick up the bulk of Wyatt’s snaps.
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Packers coach Matt LaFleur on Devonte Wyatt injury update: ‘It doesn’t look good, guys.’
Reporting by Tom Silverstein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Packers News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
