Jordy Nelson sustained a "significant right knee injury" against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday and will miss the 2015 season, the Packers announced on Monday.
"It was determined that WR Jordy Nelson sustained a significant right knee injury in yesterday's game at Pittsburgh," the team said. "He will miss the remainder of the season."
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Nelson tore his ACL and that his other ligaments are still intact, per his MRI.
It's a bit of a surprise that it was Nelson's right knee and not left. The injury occurred for Nelson on the Packers opening drive after he landed awkwardly on a short reception. Nelson immediately limped off the field but all seemed to be right once he started walking regularly on the sideline. He eventually walked to the locker room under his own power.
Packers players and coach Mike McCarthy didn't say much about Nelson's injury once the game ended, but their tones spoke volumes about the severity of the injury.
Nelson did have offseason hip surgery, but he was cleared to practice before the start of training camp.
Replacing Nelson's production in the Packers offense is going to be tough. Nelson is the best threat vertically Green Bay has and is the favorite target of Aaron Rodgers. Nelson caught 98 balls in 2014 on 151 targets to accumulate 1,519 yards receiving with 13 touchdowns. Per ESPN, Rodgers has thrown 45 touchdowns to Nelson, his most to any wide receiver. Also, when targeting Nelson, Rodgers has a 69.9 completion percentage.
Nelson's season-ending injury means Randall Cobb is slotted to be the team's No. 1 receiver with second-year player Davante Adams working as the No. 2. Cobb caught 91 passes for 1, 287 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. Adams pulled in 38 balls for 446 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie.
The other spots on the Packers depth-chart at the position will come down to third-round pick Ty Montgomery, Jeff Janis, Myles White, Larry Pinkard and Jared Abbrederis.