If you’ve been keeping track of who has and who hasn’t participated in OTAs or minicamp, then you know the Green Bay Packers have been missing outside linebacker Nick Perry.
No one knew — and the Packers don’t have to say — why until today.
Perry, who’s pretty much always injured, had shoulder surgery following the season and says the injury affected him for most of the 2014 season.
#Packers OLB Nick Perry said he had shoulder surgery almost immediately after the season. Said it bothered him most of last year.
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) June 16, 2015
In 2014, Perry actually went against form and played the majority of the season. He missed only one game after missing five in 2013 and 10 during his rookie season.
But there you have it. He says he was injured for the majority of the year, so Nick Perry is literally always injured.
Although Perry has never lived up to being a first-round draft pick, he’s a far better run defender at outside linebacker than Clay Matthews is. While most people will point to Matthews’ move to inside linebacker for the Packers improvement against the run in 2014, it could be argued that putting Perry in the starting lineup helped equally as much.
Matthews was a liability setting the edge. Perry, although he’s not the pass rusher Matthews is, is excellent at setting the edge.
And hey, good on him for playing hurt. Maybe this is the year Perry will finally be healthy.
With Matthews staying inside, the Packers could use him. He could use a good season too.
This is the final year of Perry’s rookie deal after the Packers declined his fifth-year option.
Does anyone know how much the 5th year of his rookie contract was going to be worth? I am wondering if it was “back loaded”, so they felt they could get a better deal by re-doing his contract situation. While he hasn’t been a “star” by any means, I do think that he has been solid, and if he was playing injured all last year, then I really am looking forward to seeing what he can do if he is healthy.
Not entirely sure but I think it was going to be somewhere between $7 and $10M, which is definitely significantly more than what he’s worth right now.
Agreed he has been solid (to good), he may not be our best pass rusher, but he’s still pretty decent at it, and when he hits the QB he hits him hard, and as already stated he is very good vs. the run.
He’s missed a seasons worth of games. I wouldn’t call that solid. I would say he has progressed towards solid though, and this season will certainly be make-or-break in terms of his future in green bay
Well, well, well.
More injury secrecy from the Packers and our head coach.
This can be logically explained in one word. Gamesmanship.
Why do people keep harping on this? The NFL is a business, all organizations within the NFL operate in this manner. Why would a business publicize information that may be potentially harmful to them if they don’t have too, especially when there is no moral or legal issues to account for?
Nick Perry has injury history, and he’s a 1st round pick. The only way it could be “harmful” to them, is actually admitting they fucked up yet another 1st round pick.
Exactly how is saying Nick Perry had shoulder surgery back in February harmful to the Packer organization?
are*
You could have shoehorned Mike Neal into this article as well.
He also sat out the OTAs, and he also seems to ALWAYS be injured.