Monday morning brought injury updates on Green Bay Packers center Sean Rhyan, who left Sunday's loss to the Detroit Lions in the first quarter, and starting linebacker Zaire Franklin, who didn't play Sunday after injuring his shin in practice on Thursday.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Rhyan is believed to have suffered a high-ankle sprain when Josh Jacobs fell into the back of his legs to finish off a run on the Packers' first drive. While more testing will be done on Monday, this type of ankle injury typically comes with a 4–6-week recovery timeline, so Rhyan will miss Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers and is a candidate for injured reserve.
Jacob Monk is the backup center, but he suffered a quad injury after replacing
Rhyan in the first quarter and didn't return. Coach Matt LaFleur didn't think Rhyan or Monk would be available to go against the Panthers. John Williams played the final 58 snaps at center and could start on Thursday night. Rookie Jager Burton is another option, but he was inactive on Sunday.
The Packers won't have their starting center and probably won't have Franklin, one of their defensive captains, against the Panthers. Per Rapoport, Franklin has a hairline fracture in his leg after getting accidently kicked in the shin during Thursday's practice. Expecting him to be physically ready to play in a game just a week after this injury is probably unreasonable. The Packers have not placed Franklin on injured reserve, so it's possible he'll return within the four-week window. But Jonathan Gannon's defense will likely need Isaiah McDuffie and Ty'Ron Hopper to play all the snaps at linebacker against the Panthers.
More injury updates are likely to come later on Monday. LaFleur will answer questions from the media, and the Packers will release their first injury report of Week 8.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Injury updates on Packers C Sean Rhyan, LB Zaire Franklin
