The Green Bay Packers placed linebacker Edgerrin Cooper on injured reserve following his season-ending injury on Sunday and signed linebacker Kristian Welch from the practice squad to the 53-man roster to replace him.
Cooper suffered a torn Achilles tendon on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He will miss the rest of the 2026 season.
In need of depth at linebacker without Cooper, the Packers signed Welch, who spent the first four weeks of the regular season on the practice squad and has previously played in 81 career regular season games, including 23 with the Packers. He has played only 99 career snaps on defense but brings almost 1,500 snaps of special teams experience to the table, allowing the Packers to free new starter Isaiah McDuffie
from some of his current special teams roles.
McDuffie and Zaire Franklin are the expected starters, with Ty'Ron Hopper the top backup and Welch and Nick Niemann handling snaps on special teams.
The Packers also returned running back Damon Bankston to the practice squad. It's possible the Packers will need to elevate Bankston or Pierre Strong Jr. from the practice squad this week with Chris Brooks dealing with an ankle injury.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers roster moves: Cooper to IR, Welch signed from PS
