GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga will miss Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks after suffering a knee injury in practice Thursday, coach Mike McCarthy said.
Bulaga did manage to dodge a major injury. He did not tear his ACL as first feared and suffered only a sprained MCL, according to a source.
"Bryan Bulaga suffered a knee injury," McCarthy said Friday. "He will be out this week. He is still going through the evaluation process, but he will not play in Sunday night's game."
It's the same injury Bulaga suffered last year in the season opener, and he returned after missing one game.
The grade of the sprain was not known, but the initial diagnosis was that he would not need surgery, according to the source.
A six-year veteran, Bulaga blew out the same knee in August 2013. He missed that entire season after undergoing reconstructive surgery and has played with a brace on that knee ever since. He was wearing it Thursday in practice.
Last season, Bulaga credited the brace with saving him from another serious knee injury against the Seahawks. Rather than a complete knee blowout, he suffered only a sprained MCL.
This offseason, the Packers gave Bulaga a five-year, $33.75 million contract shortly before he was scheduled to become a free agent.
Left guard Josh Sitton said he was told Bulaga's foot got caught in the turf during a drill.
"You're always worried when somebody gets hurt, but I don't have a clue what it is," Sitton said after practice. "I don't know how much to worry, you know."
Teammates have regularly praised Bulaga for his toughness, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he wanted to play on Sunday. But the best-case scenario is likely that he would miss only the Seattle game.
The Packers will probably start Don Barclay, who is coming off an ACL injury of his own, at right tackle against the Seahawks. Barclay, who started in Bulaga's place in 2013, missed all of last season.