Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper suffered what the team fears is a torn Achilles tendon during Sunday’s 17-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to CBS Sports. Head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters after the game that the injury is “not good” and that he’d “suspect” it ends Cooper’s season, per NFL.com.
Cooper went down without contact midway through the third quarter, reaching for the back of his lower left leg before being carted off the field. Quarterback Jordan Love called the moment tough to watch. “I’m sick,” Love said, according to NFL.com. “He’s such an impact player on our defense.”
What the team said about the Edgerrin Cooper injury
LaFleur confirmed the Achilles concern in his postgame press conference and said he expects Cooper to miss the remainder of the 2026 season, according to NFL.com. Asked how Green Bay would cover for the loss, LaFleur offered little clarity, saying only, “Yeah, I don’t know,” per NFL.com.
The injury marks the third significant loss to Green Bay’s starting lineup this season. Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele suffered a torn patellar tendon and is out for the year, and wide receiver Jayden Reed is out with a neck injury, per NFL.com.
Who replaces Cooper in the Packers’ lineup
Special teams captain Isaiah McDuffie is expected to step into Cooper’s starting role alongside veteran Zaire Franklin, according to NFL.com. McDuffie entered the game in relief of Cooper on Sunday but briefly left with an eye injury, per FOX Sports. McDuffie will start alongside Franklin at linebacker while Cooper recovers.
Cooper’s role and production this season
Cooper, 24, was in the middle of a breakout third NFL season. The second-round pick out of Texas A&M in 2024 had 30 tackles and three sacks through three and a half games before Sunday’s injury, adding to 205 total tackles across his first two seasons, according to CBS Sports. Cooper intercepted a pass in the first half that he returned 18 yards to set up a field goal, per FOX Sports. In the game before his injury, he recorded nine tackles and a sack, according to CBS Sports.
His emergence had made him one of the league’s more productive young linebackers. Green Bay’s defense is already without edge rusher Micah Parsons, a three-time All-Pro recovering from ACL surgery after his injury in December, per NFL.com.
What’s next for the Packers
Green Bay improved to 2-2 with Sunday’s win and now turns to a Week 5 matchup against the 3-1 Chicago Bears, according to CBS Sports. No surgery timeline has been announced. Green Bay hosts Chicago next Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Reporting from CBS Sports, FOX Sports and NFL.com contributed to this story.
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