Cedric Benson will
remain on injured reserve for the rest of the season after having
surgery Wednesday on his sprained left foot. The running back was
able to resume practicing last week after being placed on the
injured reserve but designated to return list Oct. 10, and could
have played as early as Dec. 9. But he never did practice, and the
odds of him returning seemed grim early in the week when coach Mike
McCarthy said Benson was being re-evaluated.
"Cedric
Benson had surgery yesterday. That was the final conclusion,"
McCarthy said Thursday. "He will not be back with us this
season."
McCarthy did
not give any more details on the surgery or Benson's prognosis.
The news comes
in the same week that Greg Jennings, Green Bay's No. 1 receiver,
prepares to return after missing the last seven games with a torn
muscle in his abdomen.
"It kind
of seems that's what it's like to play in the NFL now,"
fullback John Kuhn said. "Guys are dropping like flies. We're
going to get some guys back here the next couple of weeks, we know
that. When they get back, we're going to play some good
football."
Benson was the
workhorse of Green Bay's running game, leading the Packers with 248
yards rushing — more than the rest of the team combined — when
he went out. Since then, the Packers have used a rotation of Kuhn,
Alex Green and James Starks.
"We just
need to pick up our end now," Kuhn said. "We've been
playing hard, we've been getting better each and every week since
Ced's been out. We were all sorry to hear that he wouldn't be coming
back this season, it's definitely a blow. But we've all got to pick
up a little bit of slack."
The running
game remains a work in progress, though it has shown signs of
improvement. Green Bay had its best day on the ground in three years
against the Arizona Cardinals, breaking loose for 176 yards. Four
players — Aaron Rodgers, Randall Cobb, Starks and Green — had 25
yards rushing or more, a first since 2003.
The Packers
haven't had the same success since, though the return of Jennings
could actually help that. He is yet another player opponents will
have to focus on, and if defenses get overwhelmed trying to shut
down him, Jordy Nelson, James Jones and Cobb, it could open up some
opportunities for the running game.
"I feel
we have a good rotation. It's just really finding the things they
all do well and play to that and have that in sync with the
run-blocking unit," McCarthy said. "If we can just kind of
find that rhythm, that definitely would benefit us."
