The news isn’t good for Green Bay Packers nose tackle B.J Raji, who left the team’s game after two series with an arm injury, Friday night.
Ian Rapoport says the Packers believe Raji has a torn bicep.
The belief is that #Packers NT BJ Raji tore his bicep last night, sources say. Tests will show whether it's fully or partially torn.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 23, 2014
The key here is how bad of a tear it is. If it’s fully torn, Raji, who’s playing on a one-year contract, will likely be lost for the season. If it’s a partial tear, Raji could be gone for as little as a few weeks.
The extent of the injury should be known later today.
After sucking the donkey sack playing defensive end for the majority of the last three years, Raji looked rejuvenated at his natural position of nose tackle this season. He was, at times, looking like the disruptive force he was back in 2010.
With Raji out of the lineup, the Packers will turn immediately to second-year player Josh Boyd and probably undrafted free agent Mike Pennel, who’s been one of the surprises of camp. Letroy Guion, who the team signed in the offseason specifically to be Raji’s backup, is also still on the roster. However, he hasn’t played one snap in practice or a game for the Packers this preseason because he showed up with a hamstring injury.
Frankly, the Packers might as well just cut Guion at this point.
And yes, I’m getting there.
The Packers also have the option of picking up the phone and calling either Ryan Pickett or Johnny Jolly, both of whom played for the team last year, were not re-signed and remain free agents.
They’ll first need to see how bad Raji’s injury is, then determine if they have any faith in the young defensive linemen on the roster before making that call.