GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Zach Bako-Bewele has a torn patellar tendon and expects to miss the rest of the season.
Bako-Bewele, who changed his name from Zach Tom before the season, hurt his right knee in the first quarter of the Packers’ 20-17 overtime road victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. The 27-year-old right tackle said he is planning to undergo surgery Thursday and that he believes the recovery should take about nine months.
“It’s definitely not what I anticipated happening, but you’ve just got to get back to work and then start thinking about next year,” Bako-Bewele said Tuesday.
Packers receiver Jayden Reed and Bako-Bewele were carted off the field after consecutive plays during Green Bay’s opening series. Reed remained in a New Jersey hospital overnight for observation rather than traveling back home with the team after suffering what the Packers described as a neck injury.
Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said Tuesday that Reed had returned to Green Bay and was going through testing and consulting with doctors. LaFleur added that Reed was in good spirits when they spoke after the game.
LaFleur said it's too early to tell whether Reed might play again this season.
“He’s just got a lot, I mean, there’s a lot going on," LaFleur said.
Bako-Bewele was blocking David Bailey during a third down incompletion when the injury occurred. Bako-Bewele said he wasn’t sure exactly what caused the injury, but he knew right away that something was wrong.
“I mean, I don’t think the turf helped,” Bako-Bewele said. “Yeah, I don’t know. Just something that happened, so I’ve just got to move forward.”
Bako-Bewele had partially torn his patellar tendon in the same knee during a Dec. 14 loss at Denver and missed the rest of the 2025 season. The injury occurred during the same game in which Packers All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons tore his anterior cruciate ligament.
Bako-Bewele said this latest injury is a complete tear.
“We see him working, grinding in here long hours just for the chance to come back to play with us, and to go down like that, that’s terrible,” center Sean Rhyan said.
When he’s healthy, Bako-Bewele perhaps is the Packers’ best offensive lineman. The 2022 fourth-round pick from Wake Forest has made 53 starts, including 48 over the past four seasons.
Anthony Belton took over for Bako-Bewele at right tackle during the Jets game. Belton started six games at right guard and one at right tackle as a rookie last season, but he primarily worked at tackle during training camp this year.
“I didn't want to say that we knew this would happen, but just in case,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “Unfortunately, it did happen, and (Belton) stepped in and did a nice job. Expecting him to just anchor down the right side and do a great job.”
Belton appeared on the Packers' injury report with an elbow issue Tuesday, but LaFleur expressed confidence that the 2025 second-round pick from NC State would be available for the Packers' Thursday night home opener with the Atlanta Falcons (0-2).
Bako-Bewele might not be the Packers' only starting offensive lineman missing Thursday night. Left guard Aaron Banks, who missed the Packers’ season-opening loss at Minnesota because of a knee issue, started Sunday’s game but left in the first half with a toe injury.
LaFleur addressed Banks' status for Thursday by saying that “we'll give it up to gametime.”
Green Bay (1-1) has allowed seven sacks over its first two games. The Packers also rank last in the NFL in yards rushing per game (64.5) and 29th in yards per carry (3.3).
Now the Packers are dealing with more upheaval on their offensive line.
“It's just like putting a puzzle together, but that’s the situation,” LaFleur said. “And we’ve got to do the best that we can to go out there and play winning football. Nobody cares about the circumstances. It is a circumstance, and you got to work around it.”
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