Green Bay Packers cornerback Nate Hobbs will miss several weeks with a Grade 1 MCL sprain, according to Ryan Wood of PackersNews.com.Hobbs appeared to suffer the injury during the third quarter of Sunday’s 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers while taking on a run block from former Packers offensive lineman Yosh Nijman. After the play, Hobbs could be seen clutching his left knee in visible pain. Wood reported that Hobbs removed himself from the game, though he did play six defensive snaps during the fourth quarter.
It’s the second knee injury Hobbs has suffered since signing a four-year, $48 million deal during the offseason. During training camp, Hobbs needed surgery to fix a meniscus tear in his right knee and would end up missing the regular-season opener against the Detroit Lions.Another injury is an unfortunate setback for Hobbs, whose time in Green Bay has gotten off to a rocky start. After playing 100 percent of the defensive snaps in Weeks 6 and 7, his poor performance led to his benching in favor of Carrington Valentine in the team’s Week 8 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he played just four snaps on defense.Hobbs saw more opportunities (19 defensive snaps) against the Panthers, but the results still weren’t great.
The Packers have played Hobbs at outside corner for 77 percent of his snaps this season, even though he primarily played in the slot during his first four seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders.With Hobbs out, Green Bay will continue to deploy Valentine opposite Keisean Nixon with Javon Bullard continuing to start at nickel. After that, the depth chart gets thin at corner with Kamal Hadden and wide receiver turned corner, Bo Melton, as the only backups.The Packers have already lost a key starter in tight end Tucker Kraft for the season due to a torn ACL and are entering a pivotal stretch of games. Now, they won’t have Hobbs for at least this week’s matchup against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and for Week 11 against the New York Giants.
