The Green Bay Packers plan to stand pat with Richard Rodgers and Justin Perillo at tight end -- for now -- with the hope that Jared Cook will return on the early end of the 4-to-6-week window that’s being projected for his ankle injury.
“That’s the plan as I stand here today,” coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday.
Cook sprained his right ankle in Sept. 25 game against the Detroit Lions. During last week’s bye, the Packers consulted noted foot/ankle specialist Dr. Bob Anderson, who performed last year’s surgery on Packers receiver Ty Montgomery, and confirmed that Cook should be able to return without surgery.
When Cook exited early in Week 3, Rodgers played a season-high 80% of the snaps. Rodgers was the #9 TE last year in standard formats (#11 in PPR), so he's a serious threat for TE1-type numbers while Cook is out. Boosting his chances of hitting pay dirt, with Aaron Rodgers under center the Packers have averaged 2.71 pass touchdowns at Lambeau since 2014.
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