A roster move made by the Green Bay Packers this week now makes more sense. The team placed running back Chris Brooks on injured reserve on Saturday, meaning he'll miss Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears plus games against the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers before he's eligible to return.
Brooks, the team's leader in snaps at running back through four weeks, injured his ankle during the first half of last Sunday's win in Tampa. He missed the full week of practice and was ruled out on the final injury report released Friday.
The Packers, who now have an open roster spot, planned ahead for this move -- signing Pierre Strong Jr. off the practice squad on Thursday. It now makes more sense why the Packers signed Strong to
the 53-man roster, considering Brooks will miss the next four games. In theory, the Packers could have elevated Strong from the practice squad up to three times to cover for Brooks' injury in the short term, but it's clear his injury recovery timeline is longer than three weeks.
Strong will be in the mix for snaps at running back alongside Kaleb Johnson and MarShawn Lloyd for at least the next month. He also has kick return experience across 46 games played at the NFL level, previously with the Patriots and Browns.
Losing Brooks for the crucial games coming up is a blow to the Packers offense, who depend on Brooks as a blocker and in some third-down passing situations and are desperate for better play at the running back position. Can Strong provide a spark?
Brooks will be eligible to come off injured reserve and play against the New England Patriots in Week 9.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers RB Chris Brooks lands on IR, will miss at least 4 games
