Less than a week after enduring copious injuries during a Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the Green Bay Packers now face another major health concern. Starting outside linebacker Nick Perry has a hand injury that will require surgery to repair.
Green Bay offered no insight into the nature of the hand injury or when Perry incurred the problem. Just as importantly, the team did not say how many games he could miss. Head coach Mike McCarthy said those details could come to light after surgery. In Perry's absence, recent free-agent addition Ahmad Brooks will move into the starting lineup.
The Packers offered no timeline for Perry's return. However, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the outside linebacker should only miss a short amount of time, suggesting a less serious surgery than the one that cost Perry multiple games in 2016. Indeed, Rapoport says this procedure only affects one of Perry's fingers.
The Packers signed Perry to a five-year, $60 million deal this offseason after a breakout 2016 campaign. During that season, Perry also broke his hand, playing several games with a club around the affected arm. It remains unclear whether Perry will use a club again when he returns this year.