The Green Bay Packers put outside linebacker Nick Perry on injured reserve on Wednesday and activated tight end Andrew Quarless from the physically unable to perform list.
Perry had wrist surgery earlier this week and had missed the last three games because of a knee injury. The Packers will now be forced to go with Clay Matthews (who has an injured hamstring), Erik Walden, Dezman Moses and Frank Zombo at outside linebacker the rest of the season.
Not all is lost if one of those guys goes down though. Both Brad Jones and Jamari Lattimore played the outside last season before moving inside in training camp. In an emergency situation, the Packers could theoretically use Lattimore on the outside or shift Jones, who’s currently starting at inside linebacker, outside and go with Robert Francois, who started last season in place of an injured A.J. Hawk, inside.
As for Quarless, AKA God’s Gifts, he’s returning from a torn ACL suffered in week 10 of last season. Prior to that, Quarless was virtually a non-factor. He caught just three balls for 21 yards in 10 games after catching 21 for 238 during his rookie season.
So, here’s an idea. The Packers have plenty of tight ends — five to be exact — and hell, at least three of them might be capable of contributing on offense.
Why don’t the Packers throw in more two tight-end sets like the New England Patriots do with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez? Granted, these guys are not Gronk and Hernandez, but we do know Jermichael Finley is a matchup problem and Tom Crabtree has come through with his share of big plays.
Just a thought.