It started with an illegal hit from Aidan Hutchinson to Jordan Love in the Green Bay Packers’ season opener. Zach Tom had to leap over his quarterback to avoid hitting him, but in the process, injured his oblique.
Despite trying to play through the pain last week — a decision Matt LaFleur regretted — Tom now faces another game on the sidelines. The Packers have ruled him out for Sunday Night Football, which means we won’t see the star right tackle until after the bye week.
It’s unclear how much longer Tom will be out, but he posted an ominous message on social media, simply writing: “it is what it is.”
it is what it is
— Zach Tom (@zachtom5) September 27, 2025
Zach Tom’s social media post leaves Packers fans concerned
It’s unclear what Tom is referencing. It may not have anything to do with football. Who knows? It could just be the frustration of not being able to play for another week.
Packers fans understandably have concerns any time a player posts a message like this, but there’s reason for optimism that Tom could return after the Week 5 bye.
While returning last week was clearly a misjudgment, the fact that it was even a conversation suggests his injury isn’t considered serious. LaFleur said Tom didn’t make the injury worse by toughing it out for one snap. Rather, he felt the pain and decided he couldn’t go.
If Tom didn’t make it any worse, then it would make sense that an extra three weeks of recovery might be enough to get back to 100 percent.
That’s the hope, anyway.
If Tom’s social media post is simply out of frustration, then that’s understandable. He watched the same offensive line performance as the rest of us last week, and it’s clear how much the Packers miss him. Now, he has to sit out of a huge clash against the Cowboys in primetime.
And it all comes back to a cheap shot in Week 1. One moment in a game that will end up costing Tom over a month of action, excluding the one snap he played in Cleveland. Hopefully, Tom’s social media post isn’t a sign of a longer spell on the sideline than anticipated, and is simply frustration about missing Week 4.
The Packers need their star right tackle back as soon as possible.
