Packers rookie defensive tackle Montravius Adams suffered a stress fracture in his foot and is expected to require a screw inserted, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). While Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy announced Adams will miss “several weeks,” Rapoport indicates Adams will be hard-pressed to be available for the start of the 2017 regular season.
Adams, the 93rd overall pick of the draft, had been expected to compete for a rotational role along the Packers’ defensive line. Clearly, that could still happen at some point later in the season, but it will be exceedingly difficult for Adams to register playing time without having had the benefit of a rookie training camp and preseason.
Adams has already practiced this year, so he isn’t eligible for the physically unable to perform list. If Green Bay wants to stash Adams without having him count towards the roster count, it will have to place him on injured reserve, and then designate him as one of two players to return from IR following an eight-week absence.
The Packers were already fairly thin along the defensive interior, especially considering that Letroy Guion will be suspended for the first four games of the season. While reserves such as Ricky Jean-Francois or Christian Ringo could potentially slide to nose tackle, Green Bay could conceivably consider outside additions. Dan Williams, Jared Odrick, Arthur Jones, and Vance Walker are the best interior lineman on the free agent market, though not all are cut out to play one-technique.