Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed was carted off the field on a backboard after taking a hit on the second offensive play of Sunday’s game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, and the situation got worse one play later when right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele suffered a knee injury and was carted off as well. Both players were officially ruled out for the remainder of the game, leaving Green Bay without two starters before the first quarter had barely gotten underway.
What happened on the play that injured Reed
Reed caught a bubble screen for a 4 yard gain before being tackled by Jets linebacker Demario Davis, with former Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare also making contact on the play. Reed stayed down afterward, and medical staff from both teams worked on him for several minutes on the field while players from both sides took a knee.
He was eventually placed on a backboard with his helmet stabilized before being carted off, and the team listed the injury as a neck injury. Team updates in the hours and days ahead will determine how much time, if any, Reed will miss going forward.
Why this marks a troubling pattern for Reed specifically
This is the second consecutive season Reed has been injured during Green Bay’s second game. Last year, he fractured his collarbone in the first quarter against Washington, an injury that kept him out for 10 games. Two years running now, an early season injury has interrupted what had been building into a featured role in the Packers offense, and it raises fair questions about durability heading into a long 17 game schedule.
How Bako-Bewele’s injury compounded an already tough sequence
On the very next offensive snap after Reed went down, Bako-Bewele sustained a right knee injury serious enough that his leg was placed in a cast on the field before he was carted off. Losing a starting right tackle and a key receiving weapon on consecutive plays forced Green Bay to adjust its offensive plan on the fly, reshuffling both its blocking assignments and its passing targets far earlier in the game than any coaching staff wants to.
What this means for Green Bay’s game plan and season outlook
Green Bay entered Sunday’s matchup already needing consistent offensive production, and losing two starters in the opening minutes strips away both protection up front and a proven target in the passing game.
The Packers will lean on their remaining receiving corps and next man up options along the offensive line for the rest of Sunday’s game, but the bigger concern is how long both players will be sidelined. Neck injuries in particular are evaluated cautiously, and any update on Reed’s status will shape how Green Bay approaches its offense in the coming weeks.
