Nick Perry‘s season will come to an early conclusion. Already ruled out for Week 12, the veteran outside linebacker is now on the Packers’ IR list, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Perry is dealing with a knee injury, the latest in a recent run of maladies for the well-paid pass rusher. Green Bay promoted defensive end James Looney from its practice squad to fill the roster spot, per ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky (on Twitter).
Injured during the Packers’ Week 10 win over the Dolphins, Perry missed last week’s game and did not practice this week. He’ll finish a season on IR for a second straight year. Various injuries affected Perry last season, and he missed all of Green Bay’s offesason program training camp with an ankle ailment.
The sixth-year edge defender will finish his season with a career-low 1.5 sacks. By the end of this regular season, Perry will have missed 11 games since signing his five-year, $60MM extension.
Kyler Fackrell and Reggie Gilbert will see more time in Perry’s absence. The former, thanks to a three-sack performance in Seattle, now leads the Packers with eight this season.
Although Perry has not lived up to the extension, he may be tethered to the Packers for at least one more season. It would cost Green Bay more than $11MM in dead money if Perry is released next year. Perry finished 2016 with a career-high 11 sacks, but injuries have limited his chances to build on that performance and justify his eight-figure-AAV re-up.
Perry is an above average OLB who sets the edge well and collapse the pocket. When fully healthy – which he never is. He’s sucked hard this year and regardless of the cap hit, I’d be surprised to see him in Green and Gold again.
Looney has some intrigue, but he’s nowhere near ready. Not even close. He’ll play special teams only barring some type of catastrophe.
Above average….you don’t watch much football if you make that statement. Even when healthy he’s slow, fat and non-reactive. A LB in a DL body. He’s done.
Go look at her pressures per snap. They’re pretty good. Regardless, he’s not a good NFL player because he can’t stay healthy. As a Packers fan, I’m hopeful we’ll cut him, regardless of the dead-cap figure.
The Packer front office has decided to usher in the Looney era. Bravo!
And he’s done in a GB uniform. Wonder if he’ll end up in Cleveland.