Green Bay Packers right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele said he fully tore his patellar tendon. He’s getting surgery on Thursday and faces a nine-month recovery.
The injury occurred on the same knee as the one he partially tore the patellar tendon in last December. Bako-Bewele didn’t blame it on coming back too soon. He did say turf didn’t help.
The 27-year-old starter went down on the third play from scrimmage Sunday at MetLife Stadium during Green Bay’s 20-17 overtime victory over the New York Jets. Trainers placed an air cast on his right leg before he was carted off. Coach Matt LaFleur said after the game that the injury “doesn’t look good” and that Bako-Bewele “could be out for a long time.”
The sequence was grim. One play earlier, wide receiver Jayden Reed was carted off on a backboard with a neck injury after a hit on a short reception. Reed later had feeling and movement in all extremities and stayed overnight for observation. The Packers also lost left guard Aaron Banks to a toe injury and backup Donovan Jennings to a hand injury.
Bako-Bewele was playing in just his second game since returning from offseason surgery on the partial tear suffered in Week 15 last season against Denver. He had missed the final stretch of 2025, including the playoffs, and was limited through much of training camp while ramping up.
The Packers selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 draft out of Wake Forest. He developed into a reliable starter and signed a four-year, $88 million extension in July 2025 that included a $30.2 million signing bonus. This offseason he legally changed his last name from Tom to Bako-Bewele to honor his paternal grandparents of Nigerian descent.
“Just doing some research, talking to my dad a little bit, I just wanted to have a name that represented where I came from, my ancestry, just get back to my roots,” he said when announcing the change.
Second-year lineman Anthony Belton, a 2025 second-round pick from NC State, took over at right tackle after Bako-Bewele left the game. Belton, listed at 6-foot-6 and 336 pounds, has shown versatility but will now be asked to protect Jordan Love for an extended stretch.
Patellar tendon tears are among the more punishing injuries for NFL players. Studies of league history show a return-to-play rate of about 55 percent after such tears, with a mean time back of roughly 357 days and a median near 11 months. Only about 21 percent of those who return reach their prior performance level within two years.
The Packers entered the season already dealing with offensive line questions after Love was hit frequently in a Week 1 loss to Minnesota. Losing their top tackle so early compounds those issues. Green Bay is 1-1 after rallying from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit Sunday.
MetLife Stadium’s artificial turf has drawn repeated criticism from players and coaches. A 2024 study found lower-extremity injuries occurred at a rate of 1.42 per game on turf compared with 1.22 on natural grass. An NFLPA survey of 1,700 players found 92 percent preferred grass.
Bako-Bewele’s comment that the turf “didn’t help” fits a long list of complaints about the surface, which has been the site of numerous high-profile injuries in recent years. The stadium hosted grass for the World Cup this summer but returned to turf for the NFL season.
The Packers now turn to a young line and a short week ahead. Bako-Bewele’s nine-month timeline would put any potential return near the start of next season at the earliest. For a player who had just begun the first year of a large contract, the setback is significant.
Green Bay will evaluate its depth and possible roster moves in the coming days as it prepares without one of its most important offensive pieces.
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