Injury to Wells causes concern for Packers

Brian Carriveau — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:16:20 GMT

Unbeknownst to the public until Tuesday, Green Bay Packers starting center Scott Wells suffered a setback on Monday in his recovery from a lower back or "trunk" issue as head coach Mike McCarthy likes to call it.

Wells appears to be out for at least the regular season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football and possibly longer.

The setback has set about a chain reaction of events as the team has to deal with the loss of Wells.

First they had to juggle their starting lineup, which now looks like Jason Spitz will slide over to center while Tony Moll will step into the spot vacated by Spitz at right guard.

The Packers do have a modicum of experience with that particular lineup as it will the be same group of guys that started along the offensive line for the preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans. It's not like they were on the field together for any length of time, though. The first string was pulled after the one play that went for a touchdown.

The more pressing concern is the depth on the team. With Junius Coston now on injured reserve, the Packers don't have much of a center to turn to behind Spitz.

Daryn Colledge is the likely backup if the Packers don't make a roster move to rectify the situation. Colledge has taken some repetitions at practice as a center last year when Wells was also injured, but he has no game experience at the position.

Beyond Colledge, it's anybody's guess who else might a backup. Tony Moll has taken some snaps as a backup long snapper, but there's a world of difference between the two positions.

Undrafted rookie center Brennen Carvalho made the practice squad and could be a candidate to join the team in a desperate situation.

Muddying the situation further is that Josh Sitton is not around to provide any depth along the offensive line. It's possible that the Packers may go with only seven offensive linemen on their 45 man active roster on Monday. It all depends if they want to activate rookie tackle Breno Giacomini or not.

Photo credit: Mark Hoffman for the Journal Sentinel

And the cuts start rolling in...

Dan Haddinger — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:01:46 GMT

According to ESPN, here are the Packers cuts so far:

Wide receivers Jake Allen, Johnny Quinn, Taj Smith and Brett Swain, cornerbacks Scorpio Babers and Joe Porter, defensive tackles Conrad Bolston, Alfred Malone and Daniel Muir, center Brennen Carvalho, safety Tyrone Culver, linebackers Spencer Havner and Danny Lansanah, tight end Joey Haynos, running backs Noah Herron and Vernand Morency, guard Ryan Keenan, tackle Orrin Thompson and fullback Corey White.

They also placed defensive tackle Rodney Allen, center Junius Coston and long snapper J.J. Jansen on injured reserve.

Some of the cuts are a little surpising, in my opinion. Getting rid of both Herron and Morency? That gives us a VERY young backfield. Combine that with the age of all of our QB's and we've got a group of kids who have no idea who the ThunderCats are.

We'll just see if Ted is looking to pick anyone up from wire. Looks like there's been a few bigger names let go.

My choice (and yes I know I sound like a homer) but let's bring in Nick Hayden. Panthers cut him today too and we could use someone with a good motor on the D line.

Railbird Central : Brennen Carvalho

Injury to Wells causes concern for Packers

And the cuts start rolling in...