Packers place guard Lane Taylor on injured reserve

The Green Bay Packers have placed left guard Lane Taylor on injured reserve.

Last week, it looked like the Green Bay Packers were moving towards making rookie Elgton Jenkins a starter at left guard ahead of Lane Taylor, but now an injury to Taylor has answered any questions.

The Packers announced on Saturday that they have placed Taylor on injured reserve, and have signed Adam Pankey, who was on the Tennessee Titans practice squad. Pankey spent all summer on the Packers’ roster, so he’ll already be familiar with Matt LaFleur’s offense.

In the short term, this means Jenkins will take over as the starter at left guard, which could’ve been the case even if Taylor hadn’t got injured. For Taylor, he can’t return for at least eight weeks, but it’s unclear whether his injury will keep him out for the rest of the season.

The injury came as a surprise. Taylor wasn’t on Wednesday’s injury report, but was added as a limited participant on Thursday due to a biceps injury. He then didn’t participate on Friday and was ruled out of the game against the Denver Broncos in Week 3.

Depth becomes a slight concern for the Packers now with Taylor out, especially if either Jenkins or right guard Billy Turner gets injured.

In the long term for Taylor, could he have played his last game for the Packers? If his injury is season-ending, it has to be a possibility. Taylor is under contract until the end of the 2020 season, but if the Packers don’t see him as a starter in 2020, they may decide to free up cap room in the offseason.

Taylor’s cap hit in 2020 will be $5.93 million, according to Spotrac. The team could save around $4.5 million if they released Taylor next offseason.

But that’s a conversation for the spring. For now, there’s still a possibility Taylor could return later this season. Although it’s unlikely he’ll be a starter at guard.