Packers: Equanimeous St. Brown healthy again after high ankle sprain

Packers receiver Equanimeous St. Brown dealt with a high ankle sprain last season, but he is now healthy and ready to go.

In many ways, getting Equanimeous St. Brown back this season is as good as signing a free agent for the Green Bay Packers.

St. Brown is yet to play a regular-season snap in Matt LaFleur’s offense so we don’t yet know just how big of an impact he can play.

EQ entered the 2019 season with high expectations after a solid rookie year, but injury kept him out of all 16 games. It was a surprise at the time to see St. Brown placed on injured reserve before the start of the season, meaning he was unable to return later on.

But after hearing St. Brown talk to reporters on Saturday, it makes a lot more sense why the Packers shut him down for the year.

“It was a high ankle sprain,” St. Brown said. “At first, we didn’t know exactly how bad it was. But once they found out I needed surgery, that’s when they put me on IR for the year.”

St. Brown added that he had a “tightrope” surgery on his ankle and that he didn’t feel 100 percent again until around “halfway through the offseason”.

Realistically, even if St. Brown hadn’t been placed on injured reserve, he wouldn’t have been able to return in the 2019 season. He was dealing with a significant injury.

The good news is that St. Brown was still able to get more familiar with the offense. He learned LaFleur’s system and got some playing time during the summer in 2019. Now that St. Brown is fully healthy, he has a big opportunity ahead of him in the regular season.

EQ will compete for snaps with Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, but with the Packers not making many additions at wide receiver and Devin Funchess opting out, the opportunity is there for St. Brown to make an impact.

The Packers will be counting on their young receivers this year, and St. Brown will have an important role to play.