Packers fear Javon Hargrave tore Achilles in Bears rout

The scoreboard said party. The postgame presser killed it.

Ian Rapoport

@RapSheet

#Packers DT Javon Hargrave is believed to have torn his Achilles, coach Matt LaFleur told reporters. The second torn Achilles in as many weeks for the GB defense.

Hargrave got carted off in the 4th quarter of a game that was already over. Green Bay was cruising, the defense held Chicago to 246 total yards, and the final was 31-7. That's the kind of afternoon where you'd expect the starters to be on the bench with towels on their heads, not a 33-year-old defensive tackle getting carted off with a season-ending injury in garbage time. It's the cruelest kind of injury, the one you lose in a game you'd already won.

It's also been a rough year physically for Hargrave even before Sunday. He came into the game questionable with a toe injury, and he's already dealt with a knee issue and a concussion. He has played in 4 games this season and had 1 tackle against the Bears before he went down. When it's not one thing it's another, and this time it's the big one.

ProFootballTalk

@ProFootballTalk

Packers DT Javon Hargrave is believed to have suffered a torn Achilles tendon. t.co/a8CwR1THur

Some background on how he ended up in Green Bay in the first place. Hargrave is in his 11th NFL season, drafted by Pittsburgh back in 2016, and the Packers are his 5th franchise. Minnesota cut him in March 2026 with time left on a 2-year deal, and he agreed to sign with the Packers shortly after. A veteran signing on a defense that needed bodies up front, and now he's probably done for the year before Halloween.

The bigger problem is the trend. Rapoport's line is the scary part: this is the 2nd torn Achilles in as many weeks for the Green Bay defense. One is bad luck. Two in back-to-back weeks means a front that already has its problems against the run is going to be thinner up front, and the guys who were rotating in are about to play a lot more snaps.

What to watch: the MRI to confirm what LaFleur already sounds sure about, and whether the Packers go outside the building for interior line help or just patch it together from the depth chart. Beating Chicago 31-7 is great. Doing it while losing another starter for the year turns a good day into a pretty expensive one.