Packers: Oren Burks might not need to go on IR, per report

Green Bay Packers linebacker Oren Burks might not need to go on injured reserve.

When Oren Burks exited the Green Bay Packers‘ preseason opener with an injury, many feared his season may be over. Well, now he might not even need to go on injured reserve.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Burks will return this season. He added that the time missed should be “short term”, and that he might not be placed on injured reserve.

That’s quite incredible considering the expectation seemed to be that he wouldn’t play again this season. It’s also huge news for the Packers defense. The team is thin at inside linebacker.

Burks’ replacement as the starter alongside Blake Martinez, Curtis Bolton, suffered a knee injury in preseason and there is currently no news on how long he’ll be out for.

The Packers aren’t providing many injury updates, but Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reported that Bolton doesn’t believe his injury is as serious as they feared, and also noted that he no longer needs crutches.

Only time will tell, but that’s potentially good news.

But if Burks doesn’t miss time, it would be huge for the Packers defense. In his second season, the team is hoping Burks can become a starter on defense next to Martinez. He played in 14 games last year, starting four, but dealt with a shoulder injury.

We’ll find out shortly whether the Packers do place Burks on injured reserve. Once their 53-man roster is finalized later this week, they could decide to place Burks on IR with the expectation to bring him back after eight weeks.

But Rapoport’s report is a great sign that they perhaps feel he’ll only miss a few weeks.

There’s some more good injury news for the Packers, with first-round pick Rashan Gary returning to practice on Monday. He had to leave the third preseason game due to injury.

Burks might not be ready for the season opener, only time will tell, but the Packers might not be without their starting linebacker for too long.