The Green Bay Packers' defensive injury crisis deepened Monday when an MRI confirmed that star linebacker Edgerrin Cooper tore his left Achilles, ending his 2026 season. Cooper went down untouched in the third quarter of Sunday's 17-14 win at Tampa Bay, grabbing his left ankle with 8:31 remaining before being carted off unable to put weight on the leg.
The diagnosis, first reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and confirmed by multiple outlets, is a devastating blow to a unit already missing All-Pro Micah Parsons, who remains on the PUP list and may not return until November. "He's a tough guy to lose... My heart hurts for him," head coach Matt LaFleur said Monday.
Cooper was enjoying a breakout campaign. In just two and a half quarters on Sunday he piled up nine tackles, a sack, an interception and a pass defensed, and he leads the team with six tackles for loss this season. The 24-year-old, a 2024 second-round pick out of Texas A&M, has 235 tackles and seven sacks across 34 career games.
At 2-2, the Packers will now lean on reserves McDuffie and Ty'Ron Hopper to fill the void as they try to stay in the NFC North race without two of their most dynamic defenders. For Cooper, the focus turns to surgery and a long rehab - a cruel end to what was shaping up as a Pro Bowl-caliber season.
