Za’Darius Smith has been a menace since signing with the Packers in 2019.
Hence, this injury news is worth following:
#Packers LB Za'Darius Smith is going on injured reserve.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 17, 2021
Green Bay is putting its top pass-rusher on injured reserve because of a back injury. It isn’t a new injury for Smith, who has been nursing it since the start of training camp. But after playing just 18 snaps in the Packers’ Week 1 loss to the Saints, Green Bay has made the decision to shut down Smith for the time being, get him healthy, and in a place where he can be helpful for longer spurts than an 18-play appearance.
A trip to short-term IR would put Smith out for at least three weeks. That puts him out for the Lions, 49ers, and Steelers games. It could put him in line to return Week 5 against the Bengals or even Week 6 versus the Bears at Soldier Field. But that Smith is going on IR and missing any amount of time feels significant. Smith, 29, is coming off consecutive Pro Bowl seasons in which he has came up with 26 sacks, 29 tackles-for-loss, and 60 QB Hits in 32 games. He is a menacing force who is a problem for offensive lines to deal with. So, yeah, losing Smith for any amount of time feels significant because it is. Imagine how it would feel if the shoe was on the other foot, because the Packers losing Smith would be kin to Khalil Mack going down. You know what, on second thought, let’s not. The Bears are dealing with too many real injuries for us to have to sort through imaginary ones.