Thanks to a broken leg, the Packers haven’t gotten much out of Derek Sherrod in the two years since they made him a first-round pick.
Sherrod broke his leg in Week 15 of the 2011 season and never made it off the PUP list this season, leaving the Packers scrambling when right tackle Bryan Bulaga was lost for the season as well. Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports that it’s still unknown whether Sherrod, who also suffered nerve damage, will be ready in time for the start of the offseason program. Offensive line coach James Campen is expecting him to be ready for the season either way.
“I expect him to be back and competing for a spot,” Campen said. “He was just on the cusp of doing some very good things when he got hurt. It was there and unfortunately we had the injury in Kansas City and it’s taken a little bit longer than we had thought to get ready, but we expect him to be back and ready to go.”
Bulaga expects to be back for training camp, opening up the possibility that the Packers will field the offensive line bookends that they hoped to get by using first rounders in 2010 and 2011 on them. At the very least, they’ll hope for spirited competition as part of the effort to cut down on the 51 sacks allowed in 2012.