Javon Hargrave Tears Achilles, Out for Packers Season

Javon Hargrave's season is over. Tests on Monday confirmed the Green Bay Packers defensive tackle tore his Achilles tendon in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 31-7 win over the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

That stings twice for Green Bay. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper tore his Achilles in Week 4, so the Packers have now lost two starting defenders to the same injury in back-to-back weeks, per NBC Sports. A 3-2 team that just looked dominant against Chicago has to rebuild the middle of its defense on the fly.

How it happened

Hargrave went down without contact while chasing Bears quarterback Case Keenum late in the game, per Field Level Media, and was carted off with 1:53 left. Micah Parsons came over to check on him before the cart took him away.

Matt LaFleur didn't sugarcoat it after the game. "Early indications look like Achilles," the Packers coach said, adding that the injury "doesn't look good." Monday's tests confirmed it. Hargrave will have surgery and rehab with an eye on returning in 2027, per NBC Sports.

What Green Bay loses

The 33-year-old signed a two-year, $23 million deal with the Packers this offseason, per ESPN, so he stays under contract through 2027. He had six tackles, two quarterback hits and a pass defensed through five weeks, and he logged one tackle and one QB hit against Chicago before the injury.

The résumé is why this hurts. Hargrave is a two-time Pro Bowler (Eagles in 2021, 49ers in 2023) with 49 sacks and 438 tackles across 150 regular-season games for the Steelers, Eagles, 49ers, Vikings and Packers, per Field Level Media. Even at 33, an interior rusher who can collapse the pocket next to Parsons changes how offenses protect.

If you were streaming the Green Bay defense in fantasy, the pass rush just got thinner, though Parsons still gives that unit a weekly ceiling.

Next man up at Lambeau

Green Bay has to figure out the interior rotation fast. The Packers are 3-2 and sit second in the NFC North after the Bears rout, and the Dallas Cowboys come to Lambeau Field next Sunday night.

That is a real test for a front that just lost its most experienced tackle. LaFleur's defense held Chicago to seven points on Sunday, and now it has to prove that wasn't a one-week high with two starters gone for the year. If the young interior guys hold up against Dak Prescott's offense, this team is still a serious problem in the North.