It sure seems like things changed quickly on the Zach Tom front, after the staff expected him to start this week.
Going into the week of practice in preparation for the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said that he expected right tackle Zach Tom, who has been out with knee and back injuries since the Denver Broncos game in which star pass-rusher Micah Parsons was also injured, to play in the postseason. Then, the plan changed.
After Tom was a limited participant in both Tuesday and Wednesday’s practices, Tom was held out of Thursday’s practice as a non-participant. It was framed as a “rest day” for the veteran, but he was eventually listed as questionable on the final injury report of the week, released on Thursday.
Three hours before kickoff, I reported that Tom was not going to play against the Bears. This was not a gameday decision. He was indeed inactive on Saturday, pushing 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan into the starting role at right tackle. To be fair, Morgan was hardly the Packers’ issue up front against Chicago, but I’m sure some fans are still wondering, “So, what exactly happened with Tom?”
When LaFleur was asked about it on Sunday, the day after Green Bay’s choke job against the Bears, he wouldn’t close the door on a possible offseason surgery for Tom. When asked about a potential surgery, here’s what LaFleur said:
I think everything’s on the table right now. We’re still kind of working through that, obviously hoping to not go through that route. He went through the week and we didn’t feel like he could go out there and compete to the level that he needed to and protect himself.
Hopefully, if Tom does have surgery, it doesn’t impact his start of next season. Already, the Packers are likely going to have to replace left tackle Rasheed Walker (highly likely that it will be Morgan there next year) and swing interior lineman Sean Rhyan, since 2025 was their last season under contract in Green Bay, on top of preferred starting center Elgton Jenkins almost certainly becoming a cap casualty.
Low on cap space and draft picks, the Packers can’t really afford for another member of the 2025 offensive line to not be on the field for Green Bay’s Week 1 opener in 2026.
Category: General Sports
