Johnathan Franklin will not return to Green Bay Packers following neck injury

Less than 24 hours ago, the Green Bay Packers were reportedly putting running back Johnathan Franklin through a battery of tests concerning a neck injury that caused him to placed on injury reserve. Unfortunately, the early returns appear to be on the negative side for Franklin, however, as Mike McCarthy reportedly stated that he will no longer be a member of the Packers organization.

The 24-year-old Franklin just completed his first season with the Packers, rushing for 107 yards on 19 attempts while appearing in 11 games, and frankly, this is disheartening. As noted by Jason Wilde above, there has been no formal announcement and/or diagnosis from Green Bay on Franklin’s neck injury, but for McCarthy to prematurely announce that his career in Green Bay is over, it is a safe bet to assume that his NFL career in general is in serious peril.

Green Bay selected Johnathan Franklin out of UCLA with the 125th pick overall (4th round) in the 2013 NFL Draft, and for a brief time, he was considered a possibility to achieve real playing time after a battle with eventual starter Eddie Lacy. Until a complete and thorough diagnosis is released, it would be somewhat unfair to comment on the long-term ability for Franklin to continue playing in the NFL, but for now, the focus should be on the general health of a 24-year-old young man.