Green Bay Packers tight end Jared Cook is being put on the shelf after foot surgery sidelined him until at least training camp, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.
“The Packers hope that Cook will be back for training camp next month,” Demovsky writes. “The surgery was described as ‘preventative’ and something that both Cook and the team wanted to take care of now so that it didn’t linger into the regular season.”
This isn’t a great start to his tenure in Green Bay. Cook, signed to a one-year deal worth $2.75 million this spring, needs as much time on the practice field as he can get to develop chemistry with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Given his size and speed, he could develop into a star in this offense.
Of course, that’s been said about this tight end for years now. But he’s never before worked with a passer of Rodgers’ caliber, either. Speaking of Rodgers, here’s what he had to say last week.
“Jared is able to stretch the field a little bit with his little bit [of] extra speed,” Rodgers said, per Demovsky. “I’m excited to get him up and going and get to these installs and see what he can do even more.”
Cook’s best season came in 2013, which was his first with the then St. Louis Rams. He caught 51 passes for 671 yards and hauled in five touchdowns. His quarterbacks that year were Sam Bradford (seven starts) and Kellen Clemens (nine starts).
It’s for this reason Packers fans should be excited to see what Cook can do playing with one of the best — if not the best — quarterbacks in the NFL.
If Cook can get healthy in time for training camp, he shouldn’t miss a beat. Heck, even if he’s held out for precautionary reasons during the first week or two, he’ll have enough time to get integrated into the offense before the regular season. But should Cook miss significant time during training camp and preseason games, it could cost him a ton of production.
This is a story we’ll be following as we get closer to the dog days of summer.