Green Bay Packers linebacker Oren Burks got some good news. Burks went down with a pec injury in the team's preseason opener against the Texans, and he started telling teammates he was going to be done for the year, according to Tom Silverstein and Ryan Wood of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
But then Burks went to see a specialist, who told him the injury wouldn't require surgery and that he would be able to play in 2019. Silverstein and Wood write that “it doesn’t appear it will be necessary to put him on injured reserve” to start the year.
Burks was a third-round pick last year who appeared in 14 games and made four starts as a rookie.
“It’s just a blessing,” Burks said about the positive news. “Just take it day by day and see how the recovery goes, see how long I’ll be out.”
This is a pivotal year for Burks, who is battling for playing time, so a long-term injury really could've stunted his development.
GM Brian Gutekunst also sounded cautiously optimistic when asked about the injury.
“I’m really hoping that Oren’s thing is going to be short term,” Gutekunst said. “We’ll get him back here quicker than I think, but right now, I’d just kind of like to get through this next game and kind of see where we’re at, see where Oren’s at.”
The Packers are hoping to have a revitalized defense in 2019, and hopefully Burks will be a part of that. He played only 12 percent of the defensive snaps last year, and he needs all the practice time he can get.
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