Christian Wilkins emerges as the unexpected frontrunner to fill the void left by Devonte Wyatt’s shocking injury, sparking debate across Packers fans..QQ
The Green Bay Packers lost Devonte Wyatt to a serious lower-leg injury. Most likely, he will be out for the remainder of the season. While the roster has some young and talented pieces to keep a reasonable level, it wouldn’t be shocking to see general manager Brian Gutekunst going out to search for a few replacement options.
Christian Wilkins is the big one
Back in July, the Las Vegas Raiders released star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and voided his guarantees. He suffered a foot injury, and there was a disagreement between the parties about how he would treat it. It’s unclear at this point if Wilkins is healthy or will be at any point of this season, but this is the only addition with the potential to actually replace what Devonte Wyatt offers.
Outside of Wilkins, the Packers would only find some depth pieces — which is also impactful to a certain extent.
Earlier this season, when Wyatt got hurt against the Dallas Cowboys, the Packers worked out five defensive tackles, so we already know they are on the team’s radar. Anthony Campbell, Keondre Coburn, and Omari Thomas are still free agents, so the Packers could sign them to the practice squad.
Tommy Akingbesote (Buffalo Bills) and Fabien Lovett (New England Patriots) are now on other teams’ practice squads. The Packers can sign them, but it would have to be to the 53-man roster — and being forced to keep them around for at least three weeks.
Other free agent options include former Packer Montravius Adams, who most recently played for seasons on the Pittsburgh Steelers, and former San Francisco 49er Khalil Davis, who knows a similar system.
Right now, the Packers’ defensive tackle room on the active roster has Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, Warren Brinson, and Nazir Stackhouse. James Ester and Dante Barnett (International Pathway Program) are on the practice squad. It’s not an easy circumstance, but the Packers will have to handle it for the rest of the season and compensate for that weakness with different areas of the defense.
