Packers: Krys Barnes going to miss time with ankle injury

The Green Bay Packers could be without Krys Barnes for the next few games.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Barnes suffered a high ankle sprain and calf injury and is expected to “miss some time” while he tries to get back on the field.

Barnes came into the game yesterday against the Minnesota Vikings after rookie linebacker Quay Walker was pulled from the game with an apparent shoulder injury.

Shortly after coming in for the rookie, Barnes was carted off the field with what seemed like a very serious injury as his leg was immediately put in an aircast on the field before being carted off.

Barnes is coming off his best season in the NFL in which he finished last year with 81 tackles, four passes defended, two fumble recoveries and four tackles for loss for the Packers. Doing this as a former undrafted free agent from UCLA in 2020, Barnes was looking to earn a more secure role on defense this year.

With Barnes going into the final year of his contract, this injury could not have come at a worse time for him. He signed a three-year, $2.28 million contract in 2020 with the Packers.

Luckily for him, this occurred Week 1 of the regular season, giving him plenty of time to recover and rejoin his teammates on the field.

This injury is pretty significant, especially if Quay Walker misses any time with his shoulder injury. If both inside linebackers miss time, the Packers are going to be very thin at linebacker depth behind All-Pro De’Vondre Campbell.

With only one other linebacker on the depth chart, Isaiah McDuffie, who has not started in an NFL game in his career, Green Bay might be in trouble at ILB.

The hope is Barnes will come back healthy and ready to compete. Until then, the Packers’ front office will have to find a way to fill his role in an already thin linebacker room.