Green Bay Packers fans got their first real update on Edgerrin Cooper on Thursday afternoon, and things, uh, don't sound great.
Cooper hurt his hamstring at some point during the Packers' Wednesday practice session, and initial reports weren't too optimistic about his chances of playing this weekend against the San Francisco 49ers.
So it certainly didn't help concerns that Cooper was absent from Packers' practice on Thursday, which was held inside their practice facilities. (Cornerback Jaire Alexander was also once again absent.)
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The team has been pretty tip-lipped about the severity of his injury so far, but while speaking to the media on Thursday, Matt LaFleur admitted that they're not feeling great about the diagnosis. In a span of three questions, LaFleur kinda told Packers fans everything they need to know.
Matt LaFleur doesn't sound optimistic about Edgerrin Cooper's Week 12 availability
Did he suffer the injury in practice on Wednesday?
"Yes," said LaFleur.
Is there any concern about Sunday?
"Yes."
LaFleur briefly added more information, but only said: "We'll see. We'll see how he's feeling tomorrow."
In theory, the good news is that if the Packers are simply waiting to see how he feels about his hamstring, it's probably not the sort of serious, season-ending type of injury. When guys suffer major injuries like that, almost everyone knows it pretty quickly – there would presumably be tests already happening, etc.
The bad news is everything else. Suffering a hamstring injury in practice; not knowing how long he'll be out; this happening so late in the season; all of it's bad. Cooper's been one of the better players on the Packers' defense this year, ranking sixth on Pro Football Focus for overall defense and second in pass rush, only behind cornerback Keisean Nixon (never change, PFF).
It's been an encouraging, if not maybe underwhelming at times, first season for Cooper. In 10 games this year, Cooper's gotten one start, 2.5 sacks, four QB hits, and 31 solo tackles. After not playing much through the first month of the season, Cooper's snap counts have consistently gone up, and he played a career-high 51 in the Packers' Week 11 win over the Bears.