Glover Quin Believes 'God Had Meant' for Jordy Nelson to Suffer Knee Injury

The Green Bay Packers offense took a significant blow Sunday when wide receiver Jordy Nelson sustained a serious knee injury that will keep him out of action for the rest of the season, per ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. However, Detroit Lions safety Glover Quin thinks something besides the turf at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field is to blame.

Quin pointed to a higher power when discussing the injury, per Dave Birkett and Carlos Martinez of the Detroit Free Press:

"

I hate that Jordy got hurt, but in my beliefs and the way that I believe, it was God had meant for Jordy to get hurt. So if he wouldn’t have got hurt today, if he wouldn’t have played in that game, if he wouldn’t have practiced anymore and the next time he walked on the field would have been opening day, I feel like he would have got hurt opening day.

So in that sense, now they’ve got three weeks to make adjustments and prepare before opening day as opposed to that happening opening day and now you’re in the season and now Jordy gets hurt. So it happened in the preseason. You hate that it happened, but it gives them time to make adjustments and try to find something.

"

While fans and commentators can certainly debate whether God really planned for the Packers’ No. 1 receiver to get hurt at some point this season, Quin does at least provide a silver lining for Green Bay supporters.

The team has some time to prepare for the new normal without Nelson burning opposing secondaries on a weekly basis. While it may be impossible to completely replicate his 1,519 receiving yards and 13 touchdown catches, the Packers still have a great chance to win the NFC North for the fifth consecutive season.

Running back Eddie Lacy topped 1,100 rushing yards in each of his first two seasons, and wide receiver Randall Cobb is coming off a 2014 season that saw him rack up 1,287 receiving yards and 12 touchdown catches. The Packers will likely incorporate the two stars even more in their game plans now that Nelson is no longer healthy.

Quin also made an important distinction regarding team leader and quarterback Aaron Rodgers: “I mean, the best guy on the team is Aaron Rodgers, and he’s still playing. So call me when Aaron Rodgers goes down.”

Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk added more context to the idea the Packers are still very much alive in any discussion of NFC North favorites heading into the 2015 campaign:

"

The Packers have always been able to replace wide receivers with their own young players, though it usually comes when the older ones leave for big money in free agency. So while adding Wayne was the kind of move that many teams could justify, it didn’t really add up.

When you have a great quarterback such as Aaron Rodgers, it makes you more willing to take chances on unproven receivers like Davante Adams or Jeff Janis (or the next great unknown in their pipeline), knowing they still have Randall Cobb on the other side.

"

Even without Nelson, the Packers have plenty of pieces to challenge for a postseason spot. They just have to hope the injury gods leave the rest of their players alone this preseason.