The Packers are concerned tight end Jimmy Graham may have broken his thumb in Thursday night’s loss to the Seahawks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Michael Silver of NFL.com first reported Green Bay feared Graham suffered a “serious” thumb issue in last night’s contest.
Graham will undergo further testing today, per Rapoport, as the Packers aren’t yet positive on the nature of his injury. While it sounds as though Graham could potentially play through the ailment (depending on the severity), that too is unclear. Additional information and a recovery timeline should be available once Graham’s thumb goes under more scrutiny.
After falling to Seattle, the Packers now have just a 14% chance of earning a postseason berth, per FiveThirtyEight.com. Those odds are probably still high enough that Graham would attempt to play through his injury if possible, but if not, Green Bay will move on to its reserve options. Backups Lance Kendricks and Marcedes Lewis boast a combined 21 seasons of NFL experience, but they haven’t contributed much this year. Kendricks has played on roughly a third of the Packers’ snaps and managed 11 receptions, while Lewis has seen 17% playtime while posting two catches.
Graham, 31, inked a three-year, $30MM contract in March that includes $11MM guaranteed. Through 10 games, he’s put up 34 receptions on 57 targets for 452 yards and two touchdowns. According to Football Outsiders’ metrics, Graham has been a below-average starter at tight end, as he ranks 22nd in both DYAR (which measures value over a replacement level player) and DVOA (which represents per-play value).