You hear and read every NFL offseason about a player either having clean-up surgery or potentially getting hurt during offseason practices or workouts. More often than not, the team says the player will make a full recovery and be ready for training camp. And that was the exact message Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur communicated to reporters late last month regarding a torn pectoral muscle suffered by right tackle Zach Tom during an offseason lifting session in mid-April. (Tight end Tucker Kraft also suffered the same injury.) LaFleur noted that Tom’s injury does not present any long-term concerns and anticipates he will be back on the field for training camp. The Wake Forest product told reporters, according to Rob Reischel, he underwent surgery soon after the injury occurred and is expected to face a recovery time of two to three months. 

“So, hopefully, I should be back at least by mid-August,” Tom said, according to Paul Bretl. 

Given the type of injury Tom suffered and his importance not only to the offensive line but to the offense as a whole, Tom’s absence should not be glossed over. It is a significant injury, but just how significant it is remains to be seen. “The spectrum of injuries is really variable. Depending on partial versus complete and location of where that injury is in muscle, tendon or bone," Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine Director Dr. Paul Saluan said in 2022. 

JJ Watt tore his pectoral muscle in late October of the 2019 season (Week 8), which required surgery, but he returned to practice in late December and played in the Texans’ wild card round matchup in early January. In 61% of the defensive snaps, he recorded a sack and two total tackles, but he saw his defensive snaps reduced in the Divisional Round (54%) and did not record a single tackle. 

Watt’s younger brother, TJ, tore his pectoral muscle in Week 1 of the 2022 season, but he did not have surgery and returned to the field in Week 10. However, the standout edge rusher may have rushed back to action too soon. "As soon as I came back, it never really got to 100 percent," TJ said after that season. 

The all-important question for Tom and the Packers is: how soon will it be until he fully recovers and plays at his peak form? 

ESPN’s injury expert Stephania Bell pointed out in 2019 that the typical recovery time is three to four months. “You can have a really good surgical repair, but you still need time for the tissue to not only heal from the surgery itself, but then to adapt to the increased load.”

While it has been stated Tom’s recovery timeline is two to three months, that does not necessarily mean he will be in full-on game shape by that time. 

“I look at this as ‘the doctor said a three-month rehab,’ but that’s just a rehab that you can start returning to play. You’re not playing. This is a process. Any injury that you have surgery on, there’s the healing, there’s the rehab, and there’s the reintroduction period,” former Green Bay offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga said during an appearance on the May 22nd episode of Wilde and Tausch. 

“Zach Tom, with a [torn] pec, being an offensive lineman, that’s a big introduction period. That’s not like he goes out there for four days, does a couple of things here and there, and then he’s full-go the next week. I will be shocked if he does any training camp. He may be reintegrating himself and starting to up his reps by the last preseason game, not even playing in the preseason game but getting him ready to go for Week 1.” 

A torn pectoral muscle is also not an injury a player should rush back from, given the chance for re-injury. “You have to be able to apply that load to that tissue again,” Bell said. “So it’s not just a question of healing from that surgery, it’s being strong enough to withstand anything that might come its way in the course of a football game.”

And if there are a handful of players on the Packers who should not be rushed back before fully healthy, Tom is certainly one of those players. He finished the 2023 season ranked 16th among offensive tackles in ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate (PBWR), with 341 charted “wins” in 375 plays (91%), and allowed only two sacks. Moreover, when he faced off against three of the premiere pass rushers in the game – T.J. Watt, Aidan Hutchinson, and Cameron Jordan – he was stellar, allowing only nine QB pressures and did not allow a single sack of quarterback Jordan Love against those players, according to Pro Football Focus. 

Beyond Tom’s impact on the field, the position he plays is undoubtedly a contributing factor in managing the injury. 

“As an offensive lineman, we press. That is what we do and that is how we make our living. We have to take guys who are 275 pounds, press them away from us, and control them,” Bulaga said. “And it’s more than just pressing. It’s the control of the guy when you have your hands on them. … You’re working your pec, you’re working your shoulders. Everything is tied together. So, yeah, I’m a little nervous about that.” 

Put simply, a Green Bay offensive line with Tom is significantly better than one without him, making it imperative the Packers and Tom take a conservative approach.