Report: Rookie TE Colt Lyerla Waived/Injured by Packers

Lyerla will reportedly be placed on injured reserve for the rest of the 2014 season.

Green Bay Packers tight end Colt Lyerla by Benny Sieu—USA Today Sports.

Green Bay Packers tight end Colt Lyerla by Benny Sieu—USA Today Sports.

As first reported by Tom Pelissero of USA Today:

The Packers had the option of coming to an injury settlement with the undrafted rookie tight end and signing him to either the 53-man roster or practice squad later in the season, but the organization appears not to be taking that route.

According to Paul Imig of FoxSportsWisconsin.com, who got word directly from Lyerla:

Assuming the reports are accurate, the Packers do not have to come to an injury settlement with Lyerla and instead will carry him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.

Lyerla still has to clear waivers, however. Other NFL teams have one day to put a claim on him from the date the Packers officially place him on waivers, if they so choose. If he clears waivers, the Packers can then place him on injured reserve.

Taking into account his injury and the fact that no other NFL team signed Lyerla in the immediate aftermath of the draft, it seems highly unlikely another team would take a chance on Lyerla and be forced to keep him on their active roster.

Lyerla reportedly tore both his MCL and PCL in his right knee during the Packers' Family Night practice in early August.

Originally enrolled at the University of Oregon, Lyerla quit the team before being arrested on possession of cocaine in the fall of 2013. He declared for the NFL as an underclassman.

Viewed as a talented but troubled football player, the Packers will keep Lyerla under team control for the rest of the 2014 season, after having originally signed him to a three-year contract.

Since signing with Green Bay, Lyerla has stayed out of trouble, which figures to be a storyline worth watching throughout the year as he endures an entire season without playing.

UPDATE (6:39 p.m. CT): Lyerla being waived has been confirmed by the NFL's transaction wire, meaning the clock has officially ticking on waiver wire.

Exposing Lyerla to waivers has also cleared another spot on the Packers' offseason roster, bringing the number down to 88 players, two under the 90-man limit.

Based on general manager Ted Thompson's comments earlier on Tuesday, however, he seems to feel comfortable with the roster makeup.

"You can sometimes keep adding salt to the mix, and it gets too salty," said Thompson. "Sometimes you kind of have to stop and say, 'Hey, let's try to figure this out.' And quite frankly, it's just a reflection of where you are."

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Comments (10)

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Evan's picture

August 19, 2014 at 03:39 pm

Man, took all the way until the 2nd to last paragraph before we got "talented but troubled."

I was worried for a minute.

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Bear's picture

August 19, 2014 at 05:30 pm

Brian goes into brain lock once in awhile....

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Brian Carriveau's picture

August 19, 2014 at 06:45 pm

Kind of like 9 out of 10 comments from a particular reader being pessimistic.

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Gianich's picture

August 19, 2014 at 05:40 pm

The right move that most of us anticipated anyway. 2015 we can start up the "talented but troubled" cliche all over again!!

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JimTaylor31's picture

August 19, 2014 at 05:24 pm

Hmmm. I'm wondering if Uncle Rico couldn't limber up the 'ol wing and help knock some of the rust off Colt? Just throwing it out there.

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Clay Zombo's picture

August 19, 2014 at 06:21 pm

Well im officially retiring from the bold prediction business, when it comes to the Packers.

Just about every player I made a bold prediction about has either been injured, (Lyerla, Abbrederis), unproductive, (Bradford, Hubbard) or simply underwhelming (Datone Jones, DuJuan Harris.

I can admit when Im wrong but damn, im starting to think I may have jinxed these guys. Although, Its entirely possible that I don't know as much about football as I thought I did.

Better stick to my day job eh?

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4thand1's picture

August 19, 2014 at 07:19 pm

Don't sell yourself short, there's 2 weeks of TC left. Let the coaches watch practice and film.

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JimTaylor31's picture

August 19, 2014 at 07:21 pm

hahaha!! Join the crowd. I thought Bradford was a huge steal in the 4th RD. I guess Ted did too. Oh well. But then again most of my fearless predictions that are "outside the box" usually end up in the crapper. Over the years I've come to the same conclusion: I would stink as a GM. But for some reason I keep thinking I see something that Ted and the other GMs don't see. Totally delusional.

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RCPackerFan's picture

August 20, 2014 at 06:55 am

We don't know what will happen but just because Bradford hasn't lit it up now, doesn't mean he won't be a good player.
Not every player in the league starts out really well. Some take a year or 2 to develop.
Problem is now everyone expects greatness right away and if they don't get it, they are a bust...

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tm_inter's picture

August 20, 2014 at 12:18 pm

I hope Colt Lyerla clears the waiver and stays with the Packers. With John Kuhn being 33 next year it might be time to find a new fullback. I think Lyerla can be a good fullback cum tightend as well as special team, similarly to Ryan Taylor who sometimes plays as fullback.

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