Packers Lose London For Season
The Green Bay Packers lost pass-rushing linebacker Antonio London for the season Thursday when he tore a knee ligament in practice.
London, 26, who beat out veteran Seth Joyner during training camp, injured his left knee during the two-minute offense drill at the end of workouts.
After trainers attended to him for several minutes, London bounced up and high-stepped while trotting about 30 yards into the team's end-of-practice huddle.
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But he was clearly concerned in the locker room as he prepared to go for medical tests. He had a bandage on the knee, but not ice.
Asked if he'd be all right, he said: "Hopefully."
But the team later said London tore the anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that usually requires nine months to a year, at the very least, of rehabilitation.
London's agent, Joel Segal, said surgery wasn't yet scheduled but that London would have an MRI exam Friday.
"This is devasting," said Segal, who got a call from a heavy-hearted London Thursday evening. "You saw the real Antonio London on Sunday: a dominating pass-rusher who gives 100 percent on every play. And knowing Antonio and his toughness, he will be back. He'll be back better than ever."
Defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur didn't return a call to his office.
London, who played his first five years in Detroit before signing a one-year free agent contract with the Packers, had a solid debut Sunday against his former team.
He filled in Joyner's roll in the "dime 33" defense, which includes three defensive linemen, two linebackers and six defensive backs.
He shared a sack with strong safety LeRoy Butler and would have had another but Keith McKenzie beat him to Scott Mitchell.
London was so impressive in training camp that Shurmur threw in a wrinkle in the opener with London ad Butler bunched up on the same side, blitzing together.
"I think that shocked them a little bit," London said after the game. "Any time you've got LeRoy out there and another blitzer coming in?"
London, whose play prompted the Packers to send Joyner to the Denver Broncos on Aug. 31, was expected to play a significant role in the defense this season because he was so effective in that formation.
Now he'll be replaced by Jude Waddy, one of the surprises to make the 53-man roster.
London, a pass-rush specialist with terrific speed, became a so-called "street" free agent when the Lions removed his $1 million base salary by releasing him Feb. 4.
He signed with Green Bay two weeks later, becoming the first meaningful addition to a team that lost six players to unrestricted free agency after losing the Super Bowl.
The Lions drafted London in the third round in 1993 out of Alabama. They made a linebacker out of him even though he had played with his hand down for most of his two seasons as a starter with the Crimson Tide.
London finished his Lions career with 13 sacks, 141 tackles and six forced fumbles. His best season was in 1996, when he started 13 games and had three sacks and 70 tackles.
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