Green Bay Packers edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare avoided needing surgery to repair a knee injury and is currently rehabbing the injury with hopes of being available to start the 2024 season.
Enagbare suffered the injury during the Packers’ win over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Round at AT&T Stadium on Jan. 14. Early indications were that Enagbare tore his ACL and would need reconstructive surgery, potentially putting him out of action for 9-12 months.
Coach Matt LaFleur provided the surprising update on Saturday night, potentially explaining why the Packers didn’t feel a need to provide depth at edge rusher via the draft.
“He looks pretty good right now. He’s still fighting his way back,” LaFleur said. “It was never confirmed it was an ACL. He did not have surgery. He’s still rehabbing through it, and we’re still optimistic about it.”
General manager Brian Gutekunst provided additional context.
“We certainly feared for the worst when he went down. Pleasantly, we got some good news and I think that we may have avoided something as serious as a complete tear,” Gutekunst said. “So he’s working through that right now. We’re very hopeful he’ll be able to avoid surgery, but we will see how that goes.”
Enagbare’s exact injury is unclear.
A fifth-round pick in 2021, Enagbare played over 450 defensive snaps each of the last two seasons. He produced 2.0 sacks, 24 total pressures, eight tackles for loss, six quarterback hits and one forced fumbles in a rotational role behind Rashan Gary and Preston Smith. His special teams playing time expanded in 2023, going from only 86 snaps as a rookie to 194 (45 percent) last year.
If healthy to start the 2024 season, Enagbare would be expected to be the No. 4 edge rusher.