Packers TE Robert Tonyan done for season with torn ACL
Despite being significantly shorthanded for "Thursday Night Football" against the Arizona Cardinals, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers were able to pull out a 24-21 victory — thanks largely to Rasul Douglas. Rodgers and company should get back most, if not all, members of the wide receiving crew of Davante Adams, Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdez-Scantling in Week 9, but they lost two more players on offense for the remainder of the season against Arizona.
It was announced that running back Kylin Hill suffered a season-ending knee injury on a third-quarter kick return, and later Friday afternoon, multiple reports confirmed that starting tight end Robert Tonyan tore his left ACL.
After a mostly quiet first two NFL seasons, combining for 14 receptions, 177 yards and two touchdowns on 21 targets, Tonyan broke out in a big way last year. In 2020, the Indiana St. product became a favorite red zone target of Rodgers as he hauled in 52 catches for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns on 59 targets.
The 11 scores for Tonyan had him tied with Kansas City Chiefs perennial Pro Bowler Travis Kelce for the NFL high for tight ends, while also tying him with Kelce and A.J. Brown for fifth in receiving scores among all players.
In eight games this season, Tonyan had shown signs of some regression but still produced 18 receptions for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 29 targets. With Tonyan on the shelf for the remainder of the season, Green Bay will either turn to Marcedes Lewis as the starting tight end or look for a trade partner.
The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 2.
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