Green Bay Packers tight end Tyler Davis tore his ACL during Friday night’s preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Davis was injured while being tackled following a catch early in the second half. He needed to be carted back to the locker room, and coach Matt LaFleur revealed the team’s belief that the injury was “pretty significant” following the 36-19 win at Paycor Stadium.
Davis, now in his third year in Green Bay, will be expected to miss the 2023 season.
Not only does his injury hurt the Packers’ already shaky depth at tight end, but Davis leaves a massive hole on special teams, where he played 232 snaps over 14 games in 2021 and a team-high 346 snaps over 17 games in 2022. LaFleur was expecting Davis to play more snaps as a traditional tight end for the Packers offense in 2023, and Rich Bisaccia had Davis plugged in on all the important special teams groupings to open training camp and the preseason.
The Packers, who originally signed Davis in 2021, re-signed him on a one-year deal in March.
The Packers will likely need to make an addition at tight end in the coming days. As it stands now, rookies Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft and undrafted first-year player Austin Allen are the only true tight ends on the 90-man roster. Josiah Deguara and Henry Pearson are H-backs/fullbacks. Can Allen take a big step over the final three weeks of training camp and earn a job on the 53-man roster? Or will the Packers need to add a veteran capable of playing snaps on offense and special teams? When Davis goes to injured reserve, a roster spot will open up.