Report: Packers LB Clay Matthews has a Broken Thumb

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Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews says he will play Sunday. That's a big deal.
Clay Matthews

Mike Garafolo from Fox Sports is reporting that Packers LB Clay Matthews suffered a broken thumb in Sunday’s win over the Lions. From Garafolo’s Twitter feed:

 

Sigh. The injuries never end with this team.

Mike Neal and Nick Perry showed signs of life on Sunday, but if Matthews is out for an extended period of time, it’s devastating.

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Adam Czech is a a freelance sports reporter living in the Twin Cities and a proud supporter of American corn farmers. When not working, Adam is usually writing about, thinking about or worrying about the Packers. Follow Adam on Twitter. Twitter .

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21 thoughts on “Report: Packers LB Clay Matthews has a Broken Thumb

  1. Clay will wear a club probably and will be mildly effective. That’s just a guess but that seems to be par for the course in the NFL. I wonder if a thumb had a ham string (thumb string?) Would the Packers lead the league in pulled thumb strings?

  2. It’s the Ravens away next week, so he will play. Matthews with a club is more effective than 50% of the outside linebackers in the league.

  3. This team can’t catch a break. Matthews AND Brad Jones. Jones has been playing well and is our best ILB in coverage. So much of what Matthews does is with his hands so this really hurts. Excellent to see Perry turn it up. He played well today.

    1. Agree…it’s definitely a bummer. I am glad to see Lattimore get his chance, though I wish the circumstances were different

  4. The best defensive package for the packers…..right now….might be cmE at mlb with hawk and perry and neal at olb. It puts our best athletes on the field, and allows cm3 to blitz from the middle and run stunts.

      1. I doubt it. He plays on the move and there’s as much if not more start/stop/change direction on the inside as there is on the outside.

  5. Brad jones hurts….barrington and lattimore better be ready….jones was off to a great start to the year.

  6. If Matthews is out for awhile it’ll allow Perry to play Matthews spot and give him a chance to shine. Didn’t you notice that Perrys sacks came when rushing from Matthews spot? The weak OLB in the Packers/Pitts scheme has much more freedom to rush however he wants. The Strong OLB has to maintain rush lanes and gap integrity while rushing. Perry will be much different if he plays weak OLB and Neal plays strong side. Granted Perry isn’t in Matthews class as a pass rusher, but he’ll be different w/ that freedom.

    IMO the Packers should switch them at least temporarily if Matthews is limited by a cast on his hand. If Matthews is healthy it might not be a bad idea to try to see if switching them makes sense long term too. Matthews will excel wherever he plays, but if Perry has more freedom it might allow him to make a lot more plays if he’s at weak OLB. That might give us the tandem OLB we have wanted.

    1. “Didn’t you notice that Perrys’ sacks came when rushing from Matthews spot?”

      Didn’t you notice there was no help for the LT when Perry was there in lieu of CM3…Didn’t you notice that Perry was taken down and luckily was able to roll over and Stafford was still there…other QBs would have left the pocket already.
      I’m not saying Perry was all luck but lets hold off on the he’ll shine in Matthews spot. If the offense sees Perry as a threat on the ROLB then the’ll chip help over but as for Sunday-they kept the help against the LOLB-Neal. Perhaps Perry looked better one on one over at ROLB but seriously… with no Calvin, the whole defense for GB and offense for DET was 180 degree turn.

      1. Big deal. He got 2 sacks and most teams leave the LT on an island anyway! Instead of your constant Perry bashing, among many others, you should be giving credit where credit is due! You’ll see a much different Perry playing ROLB than he was at LOLB. He’ll be able to use his speed rush along w/ the bulrush he has. We’ll see what other pass rush moves he’s developed, but in the meantime give the man credit!

        Detroit w/ Calvin Johnson wouldn’t have prevented Perry’s sacks where he won cleanly and got to the QB quickly. Its not like they were coverage sacks! Quit bein a hater so damn much!

        1. “Quit being a hater so damn much!”…

          Just because I don’t easily buy into a player doesn’t make me a hater just cautious…I’ve rode on many an instant bandwagon only to be run over. If you read my comments without the automatic hate due to disagreement, you will see I actually hope Perry makes it and the table of events for him have leaned to undeserved praise. I’ll post my motto..

          “Denial will never dwell in my mind and my heart is thankful”.

          The more Perry plays to the expected level on a constant basis, denial is erased from the head and the heart welcomes them in. I just won’t praise like the blind fan what hasn’t been seen.

            1. You do realize that Perry is the only one I go after as he is the only one not playing to expectations of praise.

              We have undrafted and low round draftees that are playing well above and equal to hopes and yet Perry is cuddled and excused for his lack of it.Injury aside,this game vs Det was his first display of actual hope and that was against an offense that was disarmed greatly by the loss of Calvin Johnson. I know in your mind it would not have made a difference but it did and every sports writer and analyst knows it also. I’m not dismissing Perry…I’m just not buying the new model as yet…I need more test results of consistency.
              A CHTV writer named Jayme said the next 4-5 teams we play aren’t offensive juggernauts…if you agree then we should see some real explosions from him.
              One cannot be good only against the inferior.

  7. BTW I’ve broken my thumb mountain biking and was shelved for 6 weeks minimum till it healed enough to ride again even on the road. If Matthews needs surgery and a pin or screws he’ll probably be out a month, then have to play w/ a cast for at least another month. This will be a year long problem until the playoffs at least and maybe till the offseason.

  8. I’m trademarking this right now:

    When Clay Matthews III trots out onto the field next week with the club on his hand, we shall call the club MJOLNIR (Thor’s hammer.)

  9. Could be worse…Packers play a series of teams now with relatively immobile QBs. Less reaching and grabbing on the pass rush. A club isn’t the end of the world, but I’m expecting surgery, which is six weeks gone.

    What’s the over/under on number of weeks before Freeman starts in Minnesota?

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