football

Packers confident Zach Tom will be 'ready to roll' after offseason knee surgery

โ€ขYahoo Sports

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst confirmed that Zach Tom had offseason knee surgery, but the team is confident he'll be "ready to roll" in 2026.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed Tuesday that offensive lineman Zach Tom had surgery to repair his knee this offseason, but the team is confident he'll be "ready to roll" for the 2026 season. Tom, the team's starter at right tackle, partially tore his patellar tendon during the Packers' loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 14. He attempted to return by the end of the 2025 season but couldn't, and he opted for surgery to correct the issue this offseason.

โ€œYeah, he did (have the surgery), and heโ€™s doing well,โ€ Gutekunst said from Green Bay on Tuesday. โ€œZach's a good player, a very experienced player. I felt we were very adequate there when (Darian) Kinnard stepped in, and we have a number of bodies that can go play tackle.

But whenever you lose guys like Zach Tom, you have to adjust, and I thought we did a nice job of doing that. Fortunately for him, heโ€™ll be ready to roll as we get going. I give him a lot of credit, man, he fought his tail off to try to finish it out, and Iโ€™m very appreciative of that.

โ€ It's unclear if "ready to roll as we get going" means Tom will be able to participate at some point during the offseason workout program, which opened Monday, or if the Packers are aiming for a return during training camp, which opens in late July. The timetable for a patellar tendon repair is usually stated in months, not weeks, but a partial repair might have shortened the recovery timetable. Tom is one of the best all-around right tackles in football, earning All-Pro votes each of the last two seasons.