Greg Jennings injury: Packers WR will have surgery

Jennings was scheduled to have surgery in Philadelphia this week, but with hundreds of flights cancelled as a result of the hurricane, he won’t be able to have the procedure until the storm passes. Mortensen also reported that Packers officials are uncertain when the procedure will take place. Once the surgery is performed, the seven-year veteran out of Western Michigan is expected to need three-to-six weeks to recover.

The abdominal injury has shelved Jennings for most of the Packers’ season. In three games in 2012, the Jennings has 12 receptions for 78 yards and one touchdown.

Injuries have limited Jennings to just 12 catches for 78 yards and one touchdown on the season. The former second-round pick from the 2006 NFL Draft entered 2012 looking to raise his stock heading into free agency, but his year hasn’t gone according to plan. The Packers’ passing attack has taken a hit as well; they are only ranked No. 10 in the NFL despite their premium collection of talent on offense.

Here is what Jennings told ESPN about the decision to undergo surgery:

Though he could have opted to continue rounds of pain-killer injections in order to get back on the field faster, Jennings has clearly not been the same type of player in 2012 with the injury limiting his explosiveness. The veteran receiver’s conservative six-week timetable still gives him a viable chance to return for the Packers’ final three games against Chicago, Tennessee and Minnesota, however, which would be a huge late-season boost for a Green Bay team facing an uphill battle in the NFC North.

Jennings only has 12 receptions for 78 yards and one touchdown through three games this year. Last season, Jennings caught 67 passes for 949 yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games. Jennings was a second-round pick of the Packers back in 2006 and has caught 401 passes for 6,249 yards and 50 touchdowns during his career in Green Bay.

The Packers face off against the Rams in St. Louis on Sunday at noon CT. The game can be seen on FOX.

Jennings is on pace to have his worst season as an NFL receiver. So far this year, he has 12 catches for 78 yards and one touchdown, averaging 26 yards per game. In his career, Jennings has compiled fewer than 920 yards in a season just once -- 632 in his rookie 2006-07 campaign.

The Packers and Texans kick off from Reliant Stadium at 7:20 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 14. The game will be televised by NBC.

The team is legitimately considering the possibility of shutting Jennings down until the pain subsides and he’s near full strength, as Wes Hodkiewicz of the Press-Gazette writes. The wide receiver still expects to play this week, but the possibility of him sitting out at least one game is apparently real.

For more on the Packers, head over to Acme Packing Company. For more news, notes and analysis from around football, check out SB Nation’s NFL news hub.

Running back James Starks is also expected to return to practice this week. Starks has been dealing with a turf toe injury sustained against San Diego in a preseason game Aug. 9.

Stay with this StoryStream for more Greg Jennings injury updates. For more on the Packers, be sure to visit Acme Packing Company.

As Schefter notes, Jennings is a tough player, but it’s too early in the season to potentially risk his health:

The injury doesn’t sound especially serious, but with the Packers having only a few days between last Sunday’s game against San Francisco and Thursday’s game against Chicago, it appears that they’re erring on the side of caution with one of their key playmakers. Last week, Jennings caught five passes for 34 yards against the 49ers.