Devonte Wyatt won’t be back for the Green Bay Packers in 2025.
But he has a message for fans: His season-ending injury is just a temporary setback for him.
“I’ll be back,” the Packers’ fourth-year defensive tackle posted on Instagram with a series of photos from the season, followed by the hashtag “gopackgo.”
Wyatt was injured late in the Packers’ 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving after he had his leg rolled into on the team’s final defensive snap that ended with a Micah Parsons sack.
The Packers’ former first-round pick stayed on the ground for several minutes while being tended to before being taken to the locker room on a cart.
“It doesn’t look good, guys,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said after the game. “I’m sick for him. I’m sick for us. I mean, that’s a critical loss for our 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.”
His teammates showed him that love.
Tucker Kraft, who is also out for the season with a torn ACL, commented on Wyatt’s Instagram post: “Buddy!!”
Others like running back Emanuel Wilson, wide receiver Malik Heath and defensive end Kingsley Enagbare gave him heart emojis.
Lukas Van Ness, who has missed six games, including the Lions contest, with a foot injury, gave him fingers-crossed emojis as did defensive tackle Colby Wooden, who will be called up to fill the interior of the defensive line in Wyatt’s absence.
Offensive linemen Rasheed Walker and Elgton Jenkins, who is on injured reserve also with a broken ankle, gave him praying hands. Rashan Gary, who also knows the feeling about missing significant time with an injury after a torn ACL ended his 2022 season after Week 9, replied to Wyatt: “You know the vibe.”
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Wyatt, in his fourth season with the Packers, had 27 tackles and 4.0 sacks and 4.5 stuffs in 10 games. He missed two games earlier this season — wins over the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals in October — with a knee injury.
But he was coming on of late for a defense that ranks tied for seventh in rush defense.
Wyatt came into the Lions game on the heels of his best performance of the season. His two sacks in the Packers’ 23-6 win over the Vikings on Nov. 23 tied Micah Parsons for the team high as Green Bay’s defense harassed quarterback JJ McCarthy. It was Wyatt’s second two-sack game of his career and first since Week 3 in the 2024 season.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Packers’ Devonte Wyatt posts message after season-ending injury
Reporting by Christopher Kuhagen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
