GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings re-injured his groin Sunday and missed the entire second half in Green Bay's 28-27 win over the New Orleans Saints.
Jennings caught a touchdown pass -- his first of the season -- from quarterback Aaron Rodgers early in the second quarter to give Green Bay a 14-7 lead. But on the ensuing drives, Jennings stood on the sideline with his helmet off speaking to Dr. Pat McKenzie.
As the second half began, it was announced that Jennings had a groin injury and would not return to the game.
"We'd love to have Greg out there obviously, but in a situation like that, we've had injuries the past two or three years here and the next guy up has got to step in and play well," Rodgers said.
That next man up on Sunday was wide receiver James Jones, who had more opportunities in the passing game and finished with five catches, 56 yards and two touchdowns.
But for Jennings, a two-time consecutive Pro Bowl selection who is in a contract year, this has been a season to forget so far. In training camp, Jennings suffered a concussion that cost him more than two weeks of practice. He also missed several days with an elbow bruise.
In Week 1 of the regular season, Jennings left on the final drive of the game when he initially suffered the groin injury that he re-aggravated Sunday. That injury left Jennings unavailable to play in Week 2. When he returned in Week 3, Jennings played 55 of 76 offensive snaps but caught only six passes for 35 yards.
Jennings did not speak to the media after Sunday's game, but he addressed his injury problems this season nine days earlier on Sept. 21.
"It's been a rough start to the year for me," Jennings said at the time. "Something that I'm not pretty high on doing is standing on the sideline as much as I've been standing on the sideline. I'm not completely worried about it lingering too bad.
"But it really is frustrating. You can get down, but I try not to do that. I try to look at the positives. The negatives kind of jump in your face, especially (when) you see the guys going through practice and taking the heavy reps. That kind of weighs on you and the fact that this just isn't me, not being out there, not being a part, not being active, being injured."
Through four games this season, Jennings has 12 receptions for 78 yards with one touchdown. Considering that Jennings had three consecutive 1,000-plus receiving yard seasons from 2008 to 2010, his injury woes may keep him far from those types of impressive numbers this year
"I don't know if it's a concert or whatnot, but it is an injury and it can be a little big nagging," tight end Jermichael Finley said of Jennings. "I think he's got this one."
Jennings' injury problems began late last season when he missed the final three games due to a knee sprain. But even while starting only 13 games in 2011, Jennings still had 67 catches for 949 yards with nine touchdowns.
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