Colt Lyerla Not Headed to IR, Reaches Injury Settlement with Packers

It turns out the Packers aren't placing injured tight end Colt Lyerla on the injured reserve after all.

A week ago, news broke that the Packers had decided to place Lyerla, who suffered a torn MCL and PCL in his knee during the Family Night practice on August 2, on IR to stash him while he recovers for next season. Apparently, the team changed its mind.

According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today, Lyerla has instead reached an injury settlement.

Lylera's injury settlement extends to midseason. So, #Packers in theory could bring him back ~Week 15. Still another 6-10 weeks of rehab.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 26, 2014

While the Packers could indeed return Lyerla as Pelissero notes, Week 15 is rather late to add an undrafted rookie tight end with no NFL snaps of any kind to his resume. Of course, that assumes that Lyerla is indeed ready for full contact at that point, which won't be known for several months.

Disregarding health, the Packers gave Lyerla an eight-week regular-season injury settlement according to the tight end's agent. That means Lyerla will receive the equivalent of what he would have made through the first eight weeks on the roster.

While the injury was unfortunate, at least Lyerla earned some compensation for his trouble, and the Packers have left the door open for another look down the line.