Damarious Randall is Back, but Clay Matthews Still Isn’t

We got a surprise today when cornerback Damarious Randall returned to practice for the Green Bay Packers.

Randall has been sidelined since week 5, when he re-injured his groin. He subsequently had surgery and was expected to miss up to six weeks. Of course, Randall was limited in practice and we still don’t expect him to play this week. However, it’s a sign that he may return to action sooner than anticipated.

The news wasn’t good for another one of the Packers’ defenders. Linebacker Clay Matthews did not practice on Thursday, which likely means that he’ll miss his third consecutive game and fourth overall because of a hamstring injury.

Coach Mike McCarthy was expecting Matthews to practice today, so the fact that he didn’t probably means he had a setback.

That’s unfortunate for the Packers. Their pass rush has been anemic with Matthews out of the lineup. They’ve recorded just two sacks in each of the last two games.