Devonte Wyatt's fractured ankle is a devastating loss for the Green Bay Packers, but they do have the pieces and depth to replace his production along the defensive line
There's no getting around it. The Green Bay Packers picked up a huge win on Thanksgiving Day by beating the Detroit Lions. They also suffered a huge loss in the process, though, when star defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt went down late in the game with what is now confirmed to be a fractured ankle.
It was so bad that Wyatt had to be carted off the field and head coach Matt LaFleur seemed to know immediately after the game that things didn't look good for the 6-foot-3, 304 pound former first round pick out of Georgia.
“It doesn’t look good, guys. I’m sick for him, I’m sick for us, that’s a critical loss for our football team, for our defense obviously," LaFleur said directly after the game, according to PackersWire.
“I can’t say enough great things about him in terms of watching him mature, not only as a football player, as a person, I’ve got a lot of love for Devonte Wyatt and I think the whole locker room does, too, so (the victory is) a little bittersweet”.
Bittersweet is one way of putting it. The Packers were able to secure a sweep over the Lions, winners of the NFC North the past two seasons in a row, and in the meantime improve to 8-3-1 and 3-0 against NFC North opponents.
It was a huge win, but now LaFleur and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley are going to have to figure out just how exactly they're going to replace the big defensive tackle who was as good of a run-stuffer as he was a pass-rusher. Wyatt finishes the 2025 season with 27 tackles and four sacks.
The real answer is you simply don't replace a guy like Wyatt. He was playing at a Pro Bowl level despite battling other injuries for a chunk of the season.
While the Packers don't have a one-for-one replacement, they do have several depth players that they're going to ask to step up.
The first player the Packers may look at would be 6-foot-3, 293 pound 2023 sixth round pick Karl Brooks, who has made plays for this team. Brooks has notched 61 tackles, eight sacks, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and 7.5 stuffs in three seasons, so he's a more than viable option in the middle. The problem for the Pack is that Brooks missed the Thanksgiving game with an ankle injury of his own, so for the time being, he's a questionable options.
If the Packers are looking for beef upfront, 6-foot-4, 327-pound undrafted free agent rookie Nazir Stackhouse certainly fits the bill. The Packers also have to like what they can get out of 6-foot-5, 315-pound rookie defensive tackle Warren Brinson, whom they had selected with the 198th pick in this past draft.
The Packers also have some defensive ends who they can move inside in certain pass-rush situations to get some push. If Lukas Van Ness gets healthy, he was already doing that a little bit, and he very well could be the closest to a one-for-one production replacement with Wyatt that the Packers can get.
Kingsley Enagbare deserves more playing time, and perhaps he can use his speed and toughness inside as a three-technique.
The Packers can also let rookie defensive end Barryn Sorrell give it a shot. He's a fourth-round pick out of Texas, and he was very productive for the Longhorns as a senior, notching 44 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and six sacks.
Outside of Van Ness, Hafley won't want to use these defensive ends outside of obvious pass-rushing situations, but the point is that he has the ability to trade out some of Wyatt's size and go with a "NASCAR" package with three quicker defensive ends and the other starting defensive tackle, Colby Wooden, across the front four.
Speaking of Wooden, he's another player who can step up his production. He's notched 36 tackles this season and 6.5 "stuffs" but hasn't yet recorded a sack.
The point is this: It won't be easy, but the Packers can absolutely survive and perhaps even thrive without Wyatt. They don't want to be in this position, of course, but that's life in the NFL, and that's why depth at all positions is so important.