At some point this guy has to come on, right? It hasn’t happened yet. The Green Bay Packers 2012 first-round pick Nick Perry has given the team next to nothing so far.
Part of that can be attributed to the fact Perry played just six games during his rookie season and he was also switching from defensive end to outside linebacker. This year, he’s been even more invisible though.
In 2012, Perry had 18 tackles and two sacks in those six games while splitting time with Erik Walden. In this first three games of this season, Perry has nine tackles and no sacks.
So at least he’s halfway to his 2012 tackle production.
You could make the argument that Perry is technically still a rookie since he’s only played in nine NFL games, but then you’d be ignoring the fact that he really hasn’t made any impact at all.
It now looks like the Packers are ready to give Mike Neal and maybe even undrafted rookie Andy Mulumba a bigger role opposite Clay Matthews.
Neal, another converted defensive lineman, played 34 snaps at outside linebacker on Sunday and Mulumba, a college defensive end, played six, compared to Perry’s 48.
Part of that can be attributed to the fact that Matthews sat out the second half, but clearly the Packers are looking for answers.
Neal has just five tackles this season and no sacks, but he does have an interception and registered 4.5 sacks in 11 games, last season.
What’s clear, is someone not named Clay Matthews needs to pick it up. God forbid, if Matthews misses an extended period of time with his annual hamstring injury, the Packers look like they’re screwed.