Packers Dodged Disaster Amid Star’s Injury Concerns
The Packers entered Week 8 with plenty of injury news and concerns on the docket, with kicker Brandon McManus trying to come back after missing two weeks with a quad injury, receiver Christian Watson making his 2025 debut after having ACL surgery in January and rookie receiver Matthew Golden playing through a hip injury.; But it was an injury suffered during the game that raised the most concerns among Green Bay observers.
That’s when tackle Zach Tom went down with an undisclosed injury. Tom lay on the turf for an extended length of time before he was helped off, leaving plenty of questions about how the team’s offensive line would handle losing him yet again–Tom has battled an oblique injury for much of the year and has missed two games and most of two others because of it.
But there was a major sigh of relief when Tom came back in, missing only one play despite what looked like a re-aggravation that could be a major issue.
Zach Tom Among Best Tackles in NFL
The return of Tom was big because he has been one of the best tackles in the NFL this season, and for an offensive line that has lacked consistency because of injuries and changes in personnel, having Tom on the field has been a bandage for the line’s other woes.
NFL writer Doug Farrar pointed out this week that the Packers metrics take a serious tumble as a whole when Tom does not play. The pressure rate on Jordan Love goes from 22.4% with Love to 40.4% without him. The sack percentage goes from 2.4% to 7.0%.
Despite playing hurt, Tom has a Pro Football Focus grade of 80.9 this season, which rates No. 6 among all tackles. The Packers, largely thanks to Tom, shut down Steelers star TJ Watt on Sunday, and Pittsburgh was held without a sack on the night. It was the first time this year that the Steelers did not get a sack and only the second time in the last two seasons.
Packers ‘Concerned’ With New Injury
The Packers did come out of Week 8 with a worrisome injury, though, as special-teamer Nick Niemann, who was claimed off waivers from the Texans before the start of the season, suffered a pectoral injury and was ruled out quickly thereafter on Sunday.
A torn pectoral muscle at this time of the year could spell the end of Neimann’s 2025 season.
“We’re concerned about it,” coach Matt LaFleur said Monday. He did not know the extent of the injury, though.
Former MVP Cam Newton Questions Maxx Crosby’s Cowboys Decision
The Las Vegas Raiders are ramping things back up for the second half of the season following their bye week in Week 8. After the team’s blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, there was a lot of speculation that the Raiders would start trading away veterans to accumulate draft picks and focus on a rebuild.
However, the team decided against making any significant changes. One big rumor that surfaced was that the Dallas Cowboys were interested in trading for star defensive end Maxx Crosby. He’s the Raiders’ most valuable asset right now, so they likely could’ve gotten at least two first-round picks if they dealt him.
Las Vegas came out and made it clear that they weren’t trading him, and Crosby’s camp leaked out that he didn’t want to get traded. Crosby is loyal to the Raiders, but some people don’t think that’s wise.
Former MVP quarterback Cam Newton questioned why Crosby would want to stay in Las Vegas when he could join a potential playoff team like the Cowboys.
“But understand, even in the offseason, Maxx Crosby has made it abundantly clear that he wants to do what? Win,” Newton said on ESPN’s “First Take.” “So now, he’s not going to win in Vegas because now you have another situation that keeps constantly coming up: ‘Why am I not in the playoffs?’
“OK, now you have an opportunity to get traded to a team that is potentially what you are looking for.”
Is Crosby Making a Mistake Being Loyal to Raiders?
Crosby has said in the past that he’d like to be a Raider for life. Though the team hasn’t won much during his time with them, they’ve always taken care of him from a contractual standpoint.
Owner Mark Davis loves Crosby, and it’d take a lot to convince him to approve any trade. That said, the star defensive end could apply pressure and request a trade. If that were to happen, Davis would have to at least consider his options.
For now, it sounds like Crosby will stay put, but it could be an interesting offseason if the Raiders continue to play poorly this season.
Cowboys Not Close to Any Deals
Even at 3-3-1, the Cowboys have been much better than anybody expected. The offense has been elite and arguably the best in the NFL.
The problem for them is that the defense is a mess. They had a star pass rusher, Micah Parsons, whom they decided to trade away. Perhaps they’re realizing now that keeping Parsons might have been what they needed to be contenders.
The Cowboys do sound keen on trading for a pass rusher, but owner Jerry Jones doesn’t seem confident that a deal will happen.
“There hasn’t been anything close to a deal,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “We’re looking at all phases of our roster. … I don’t know if we will or not (make a trade). … I can tell you this right now, there is not a trade in my mind, the beginning and end of one, as we sit here and talk … that I would do.”
