Tweet
Torn Biceps Forces Packers' Brown to Miss Entire Season
Gilbert Brown recently re-signed with the Green Bay Packers, but the massive defensive tackle will not play for them this season.
Brown suffered a torn right biceps muscle in Saturday's preseason opener at Atlanta and will spend the 2003 season on injured reserve.
The loss of Brown may force the Packers to contact defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson, who was waived by the Washington Redskins last week after refusing to take a pay cut.
The 30-year-old Wilkinson spent the last five seasons with the Redskins, but had just 17 tackles and no sacks in 2002 and missed the final four games with a calf injury.
The top overall pick in the 1994 draft, Wilkinson played four years with the Cincinnati Bengals before being traded to Washington prior to 1998.
The 32-year-old Brown has spent his entire nine-year career with the Packers and was a starter on the back-to-back Super Bowl teams in 1996 and 1997. However, Brown did not play in 2000 due to weight problems and has been bothered by an assortment of injuries each of the past two seasons. He had 36 tackles in 12 games last year when the Packers ranked 21st in the NFL against the run.
Third-year players Rod Walker and Steve Warren will likely compete for the starting defensive tackle spot alongside Cletidus Hunt.
The Packers also lost reserve cornerback Bryant Westbrook, who ruptured his right Achilles' tendon in Saturday's game.
A former first-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 1997, Westbrook signed with the Packers during the 2002 season and played in six games. He had been switched to safety in training camp and was also being used at nickel back.
Westbrook tore his left Achilles in a Nov. 30, 2000, game against Minnesota and did not return until the following November.
Brown suffered a torn right biceps muscle in Saturday's preseason opener at Atlanta and will spend the 2003 season on injured reserve.
The loss of Brown may force the Packers to contact defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson, who was waived by the Washington Redskins last week after refusing to take a pay cut.
The 30-year-old Wilkinson spent the last five seasons with the Redskins, but had just 17 tackles and no sacks in 2002 and missed the final four games with a calf injury.
The top overall pick in the 1994 draft, Wilkinson played four years with the Cincinnati Bengals before being traded to Washington prior to 1998.
The 32-year-old Brown has spent his entire nine-year career with the Packers and was a starter on the back-to-back Super Bowl teams in 1996 and 1997. However, Brown did not play in 2000 due to weight problems and has been bothered by an assortment of injuries each of the past two seasons. He had 36 tackles in 12 games last year when the Packers ranked 21st in the NFL against the run.
Third-year players Rod Walker and Steve Warren will likely compete for the starting defensive tackle spot alongside Cletidus Hunt.
The Packers also lost reserve cornerback Bryant Westbrook, who ruptured his right Achilles' tendon in Saturday's game.
A former first-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 1997, Westbrook signed with the Packers during the 2002 season and played in six games. He had been switched to safety in training camp and was also being used at nickel back.
Westbrook tore his left Achilles in a Nov. 30, 2000, game against Minnesota and did not return until the following November.