Packers acquire Giants LB B.J. Goodson via trade, per report

With injuries mounting at inside linebacker, the Green Bay Packers have bolstered their defense on the trade market. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team has traded for New York Giants linebacker B.J. Goodson.

Goodson, a fourth-year off-ball linebacker, started for the Giants each of the past two seasons. The team initially planned to release him during final cuts, but the Packers and other teams expressed interest in a trade instead. The terms of the deal remain undisclosed, though Green Bay likely didn’t part with more than a late-round pick, possibly one with conditions attached to it.

The Packers found themselves short on healthy bodies at linebacker after Oren Burks (pectoral) and Curtis Bolton (knee) suffered injuries during the preseason. Burks has thus far avoided injured reserve and could return to the field later in the season. The team waived Bolton with an injury designation before final cuts. He reverted to Green Bay’s IR and will miss the 2019 season.

In Green Bay, Goodson gives the defense an experienced starter specializing in run defense. According to Pro Football Focus, Goodson ranked seventh on the Giants in defensive stops -- holding the offense to 45 percent or less of the yardage needed to move the sticks on first down, 60 percent on second, and preventing a new set of downs on third and fourth -- while only playing the ninth most snaps in run defense. That should give the Packers a viable option next to Blake Martinez on run downs, leaving safety Raven Greene and others to handle obvious passing situations.

With Goodson joining the Packers pending a physical, the team will have to make a corresponding move to keep the roster at 53 players.