The hits just keep right on coming for the Green Bay Packers. Starting inside linebacker Blake Martinez will miss multiple weeks.
#Packers ILB Blake Martinez (MCL sprain) is expected to miss multiple games, source said. 4th-rounder has started 9 games.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) November 22, 2016
The Packers were already missing Jake Ryan in the middle of their defense and he appears doubtful to play this week. They have just two other inside linebackers on the roster — Joe Thomas and Carl Bradford. The latter was just promoted from the practice squad on Saturday.
Now you have to wonder if the Packers will consider moving Clay Matthews back inside.
He was asked about the possibility after Ryan went down and appeared dead set against it. Thomas started in place of Ryan in Washington and now it appears the Packers are one more injury away from not having any other choice than to move Matthews inside.
It isn’t as if he’s playing so well at outside linebacker. In his first game back after missing four weeks with a hamstring injury, Matthews registered just one tackle on Sunday.
Instead of “So Now What?” it should just be “So What?”
All those ILBs on the Packers are roughly equivalent to street free agents. Bradford is actually a better player at this point than Martinez. Bradford was cut before and Martinez put in a starting position due to the unholy alliance between TT and MM. MM puts new draft choices in starting roles or gives them more playing time than they deserve in order to make TT’s drafts look better. He does it in return for added job security.
Martinez out and Bradford in would be an upgrade.
Matthews does not want to play ILB because he was heavily on the PED and painkillers to get through the abuse on the inside and not miss any playing time. His play and hamstring issues indicate he is no longer on the PEDs. He knows if he is moved to ILB he will get injured very quickly. Plus linemen just easily handle him nowadays. On the outside he knows he at least has a chance of not being blocked and thus making a play.
It seems that he gets injured more playing outside. It’s always full speed, and those accelerations seem to strain his body more than the more frequent hits (at less speed, though) at ILB.