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Muhammad Wilkerson has signed a proof contract with the Packers this season, but his chance to prove his value this season is already over.
According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Wilkerson is out for the season after suffering an ankle injury during the Packers' loss to the Redskins on Sunday. The wound was serious enough to prevent Wilkerson from returning to Green Bay because he had to undergo a procedure in Washington.
Wilkerson, a former Jets star, landed in Green Bay after being inflamed in New York. When he signed his one-year contract worth $ 5 million, which the monster contract that the Jets gave him in 2016, he said that he was more than adequate with the game under a type of proof contract.
"There is a lot more in this tank, and I know it, I am ready for this change and the skeptics, I am ready to practically silence them," he said in April. "And people will always talk, of course, but it will be a motivation for me."
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The injury is a blow for Wilkerson, who wanted to prove he is still a high-flying defensive lineman, and the Packers, who hoped Wilkerson would help them return to the playoffs by rediscovering his old form. From 2011 to 2015, Wilkerson has accumulated 36.5 sacks and 184 tackles in 77 games. But from 2016 to 2017, his production dropped to eight sacks and 59 tackles in 28 games. Like CBS Sports Jason La Canfora, NFL insider injuries probably played a role in its decline.
The fracture of the right fibula that he suffered during the last game of the 2015 season had a persistent impact on his lower body; at 6 feet 4 inches, 315 pounds, the break near his ankle was significant. Wilkerson sometimes had the impression of playing with a foot and ankle during the 2016 season and the healing was slow. His initial kick – once driven by speed and strength – was sapped with his right ankle / foot unable to shoot normally. In 2017, he suffered a difficult shoulder injury and a broken toe. In December, it was clear that his time in New York was dwindling.
Once again, an injury will cost him. He had not yet saved a bag with the Packers and the injury will prevent him from doing this season – and maybe forever considering that he will become a free agent again after the season. The future of Wilkerson after this season is unknown. He will still be 29 at the end of the season, so he will definitely have a chance to win in a team during the off-season, but his career has been moving in the wrong direction in recent seasons.
As for the Packers, they still have good players on their defensive front that they can count on – like Mike Daniels and Kenny Clark – but Wilkerson was supposed to elevate the group to such heights. At 1-1-1, the Packers suddenly find themselves behind the Bears and rank in second place with the Vikings in the NFC North. To make matters worse, Aaron Rodgers is facing some kind of knee injury that has prevented him from reaching this stage.
It's way too early to panic about the Packers' slow start, but there was a problem.
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