GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ deepest position group had been linebacker.

Not anymore.

With rising star Edgerrin Cooper on injured reserve following a torn Achilles, fellow starter and defensive captain Zaire Franklin will miss Sunday’s game at the Detroit Lions with an injured shin.

“Unfortunately, Zaire, there was a little collision, he got kneed in the shin, so he’s going to be out this game,” coach Matt LaFleur said before Friday’s practice when asked about Franklin being limited participation at Thursday’s practice.

LaFleur said he doesn’t think it’s broken, but:

“We’re kind of working through it right now. I don’t think it’s going to be anything too long term but, yeah, just unfortunate deal. That happens when you play football, especially the way our guys have been practicing. But I think we’ve got a lot of confidence in McDuffie and Hopper and Nick Niemann, if need be, to go in there and do a great job for us.”

Isaiah McDuffie and Ty’Ron Hopper, who had been splitting the snaps in Cooper’s absence, will be the starters against the Lions.

Key Loss, Big Opportunity

The defense was just hitting its stride. During its three-game winning streak – with Cooper missing two of the games – Green Bay hadn’t allowed more than 14 points.

“Man, I think it’s just a credit to who we can be,” Franklin said after the 23-13 win over Dallas. “Obviously, we got a lot of things to continue to clean up and get better at, but I feel like we as a defense on the rise. I think every week we continue to get better and better, taking the ball away, stopping the run, limiting explosive plays.

“That’s recipes to being great, so we got some stuff to clean up, but I think the ceiling is extremely high.”

Franklin had 10 tackles in the blowout loss to Atlanta, eight in the win at Tampa Bay and nine in the blowout home win over Chicago. In last week’s win, he had only three tackles but a quarterback hit that seemed to set the tone.

There’s a reason why Franklin was voted a team captain beyond wearing the green dot and relaying the signals.

“He’s a very serious person, so you better be on top of it. Not just players. Coaches,” defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said last week. “When he has questions, you better have answers or he will expose you, so it’s good. It’s a challenge.

“When we put up something, he’s going to ask the why and I believe in those guys knowing the why. But he definitely asks some questions that, we get out of the meeting room, we’re like, is that right? Is that what we really want to do? But it’s good. He’s a serious person. He’s all about ball. He’s like that on the field and in the meeting room.”

McDuffie, whose 40 career starts include 29 the past two seasons, provides a wealth of experience and solid production. Hopper is a bit more of a wild card, with some intriguing glimpses in limited playing time.

A third-round pick in 2024, he played 18 snaps on defense as a rookie and 126 in 2025, when he made his first two NFL starts. He has 12 tackles this season while playing 78 snaps on defense. He intercepted a pass against the Bears in the playoffs last year and another against the Bears a couple weeks ago.

Asked if consistency was the next step, Gannon said: “Yeah, I think that’s every player. Consistency of doing what you’re coached to do with the way that you want to do it with technique, fundamentals, playmaking. But I thought he played well.”

Fallout on Special Teams

One reason why the Packers had McDuffie and Hopper sharing Cooper’s workload is because it allowed both players to remain vital cogs on Cam Achord’s special teams. That probably won’t be the case now. In fact, both players might be off special teams altogether or playing limited snaps, so not only will the defense be weaker but so will the special teams.

Niemann and Kristian Welch, who were full-time players on most of the units, will have to raise their game to another level.

The only linebacker on the practice squad is Jack Dingle. He is an elite size-speed prospect who understands that special teams will be his ticket to success.

“That’s the No. 1 thing,” he said at the Bengals’ local pro day in April. “Get on a team and start learning special teams right away. That’s very important to these coaches. I’ve talked to a lot of current NFL players and they say, ‘Learn that kick-step on punt man. If you make the punt team, you’ll make the team.’”

Last week, the Packers elevated edge player Arron Mosby from the practice squad. His calling card has been special teams so he could play on Sunday, whether it’s as a promotion to the 53-man roster or another elevation.

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— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 23, 2026