Updated

It appears the Green Bay Packers defense, which was already considered far from impenetrable and struggled against the run in Week 1, has lost one of its most important players for the season.

Inside linebacker Sam Barrington posted a message on social media Tuesday that all but confirmed an earlier FOX Sports report saying he would miss the rest of the year with an ankle injury.

Later Tuesday, the Packers indeed put Barrington on injured reserve and activated Datone Jones, who served a one-game suspension, from exempt status.

On his Instagram page, Barrington said it was going to "hurt like hell to not be out there in that Green and Yellow with my teammates" and "Thank you for the support guys. 2015 is our year. I'll be back to tear shit up next year."

Barrington, 24, who took over as a starter midway through last year and was the player that wore the headset and communicated to the rest of the defense the play call, first hurt his ankle late in training camp. Questionable entering the Packers' season opener against the Chicago Bears, he started, but quickly departed and was replaced by Nate Palmer. The Bears rushed for 189 yards.

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