Early Injuries Mount for the Green Bay Packers Already This Training Camp

Head coach Mike McCarthy of the Green Bay Packers had a number of things he wanted to accomplish during the 2013 training camp for the team. One of the biggest issues that McCarthy wanted to focus on was to avoid injuries in camp.

McCarthy talked about that on the eve of training camp via Packers.com.

"I have all the confidence that we will do a better job being healthier," McCarthy said. "There's certain stress points in the camp, particularly how many days you practice in a row and what you do in those particular days. You may notice the changes, you may not.

"We probably have about six or seven adjustments that we'll discuss with the team tonight on how we approach training camp and I'm confident it will help us be a healthier team, which gives you a chance to practice and gain the consistency and conformity that you want coming out of training camp."

The health that McCarthy wished for certainly has not happened, as the team is almost two weeks into camp and have yet to play a preseason game.

Already, the Packers have seen left tackle Bryan Bulaga suffer an ACL injury in the Family Night scrimmage. That same night, tight end Ryan Taylor suffered a knee injury that will keep him out for a while.

Then, on August 6, McCarthy announced that wide receiver Jordy Nelson would be out all preseason due to a procedure that was done on his knee.

The wide receiver corp has seen a number of injuries already in camp.

Free agent rookie Sederrik Cunningham suffered a season-ending wrist injury. Both of the rookie wide receivers that the Packers picked in the seventh-round of the 2013 NFL draft, Charles Johnson (knee) and Kevin Dorsey (hamstring), are also out with injuries.

Then, on the same day it was announced that Nelson would be out for the rest of training camp, Randall Cobb had to leave practice with a biceps injury.

The injury bug seems to be in full-bloom with the Packers.

Perhaps it was an omen when rookie offensive lineman J.C. Tretter broke his ankle during an OTA session before training camp.

The bottom line is that all NFL teams suffer injuries at this time of year. Some more than others, to be sure.

If injuries are going to occur this year for the Packers, this is probably the team to have it happen to. This is Ted Thompson's ninth year as general manager of the team, and to many observers, this is the deepest and most talented team he has ever assembled. 

The Packers are used to this injury crisis scenario as they have overcome an avalanche of injuries in the recent past.

In 2010, the Packers ended up placing 15 players on injured reserve. Even with all those significant injuries, the team went on to win Super Bowl XLV.

So, while the injury situation is somewhat alarming so far at training camp for the Packers, the team has the depth to offset that issue at this point.

What the team can't afford is a significant injury to occur to someone like quarterback Aaron Rodgers or outside linebacker Clay Matthews.

There is a reason why Rodgers is the highest paid player in the NFL, and why Matthews is the highest paid outside linebacker in the league. The reason is consistent production at a high-level.

The Packers hope that the current injury situation doesn't remain consistent.