Green Bay Packers rookie linebacker Curtis Bolton revealed Thursday that he tore his ACL during the team’s preseason game against the Oakland Raiders on Aug. 22.
“I was on track to start week 1 as an undrafted rookie after the world told me I’d be lucky to make a practice squad all because I bet on myself every morning I woke up and went an got after it,” Bolton wrote on Instagram. “My season was cut drastically short after I tore my ACL in week 3 of the preseason. Give me 9 months an I’ll pick up right where I left off.”
Bolton was originally optimistic that he avoided a major injury, but further testing revealed the ACL tear. The Packers waived Bolton with an injury designation during final roster cutdowns, and he’s since reverted to the team’s injured reserve list.
The undrafted rookie bolted up the depth chart during the summer and was on track to start next to Blake Martinez after Oren Burks went down with a chest injury in the preseason opener. In fact, Bolton was one of the team’s best defenders throughout the first three games of the preseason and almost certainly would have made the 53-man roster had he avoided injury.
He went down on a run play in the first half against the Raiders and didn’t return.
Bolton will remain on injured reserve for the duration of the 2019 season and be eligible to return in 2020.
