Wisconsin Badgers fans just can’t catch a break. After losing emerging star Jack Cichy for the season, Badger faithful will have to continue waiting for Packer wide receiver Jared Abbrederis to make a splash in the NFL. Abbrederis was inactive for last Thursday’s contest against the Chicago Bears after reportedly injuring his thigh on his lone offensive snap the week before against the Dallas Cowboys. Per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Abbrederis received the Injury Reserve designation for a thigh contusion, essentially ending his season. Technically Green Bay is allowed to designate one player to return from IR in eight weeks, but with bigger names Sam Shields and Eddie Lacy on the mend, it’s likely Abbrederis won’t play another snap this season.

It’s an unfortunate sequence of events for Abbrederis, who has been dinged up throughout his three-year professional career. Abbrederis tore his ACL in training camp as a rookie, missing his entire first year. He then suffered a concussion in training camp the following year, which he recovered from only to sustain a rib injury after making his fourth professional catch. The highlight of his young career was a four catch, 55 yard performance against the Arizona Cardinals in last year’s divisional round playoff game.

Ultimately, it’s highly unlikely a thigh contusion is serious enough to end Abby’s season. With the Packers decimated by injuries at running back and in the secondary, it feels like a move GM Ted Thompson made to change up the roster construction. He sent Abbrederis and safety Chris Banjo (hamstring) to the IR, and correspondingly called up wide receiver Geronimo Allison and safety Jermaine Whitehead to the active roster. Abbrederis worked hard to earn a roster spot throughout training camp and the preseason, but struggled for playing time as a diminutive slot receiver who’s constantly hurt and contributes little on special teams nowadays. With Ty Montgomery, Trevor Davis and Jeff Janis all pushing for more playing time, and Randall Cobb manning Abbrederis’ most natural position in the slot, his roster spot was expendable.

On Sunday, Green Bay (4-2) heads to the Georgia Dome to take on the Atlanta Falcons (4-3) at 3:25 PM CDT. In the meantime, Badger fans can fondly think back to Abbrederis’ exciting days at Wisconsin, where he set school records for most receptions in a career (202, tied with Brandon Williams), most receptions in a season (78), most kickoff return yards in a game (202), and highest career kickoff return average (25.8).

Photo courtesy of Madison.com.