It will be fair to say that Zach Tom’s return from injury for the Green Bay Packers against the Cleveland Browns did not go according to plan. The 26-year-old offensive tackle injured his oblique during Week 1 against the Detroit Lions and missed Week 2.
Upon his return, he re-aggravated the injury on the Packers’ first offensive snap and immediately went off in pain. Now, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has admitted it was the wrong decision to rush Tom back.
“Obviously, yeah. If a guy plays one play. We've got to have some discussions. We can't allow that to happen. It's disappointing when he plays one play,” he said after the game, per The Athletic's Matt Schneidman.
Zach Tom was injured after attempting to block Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett and did not return. Upon his injury, the Packers used Jordan Morgan at right tackle after already having played the likes of Anthony Belton and Darian Kinnard there this season.
Tom had practiced in a limited capacity the last week and was mentioned as questionable for the game in the first place. The Packers opened their season with back-to-back wins despite the injury concerns, but were beaten 13-10 by the Browns after a crazy comeback.
Zach Tom had previously returned to training despite admitting that he was still in pain. Now, the latest setback may as well have put his return timeline under further threat.
Tom's timeline for returning to play now is uncertain, but it can be expected that the Packers will remain extra cautious this time around. Further, Tom had previously claimed that the oblique injury was not so bad that it required surgery, something which may also have changed due to the reaggravation.
The Packers will now take on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4 at AT&T Stadium. However, it remains to be seen whether Tom will play any part in the matchup.
