FANTASY FOOTBALL NFL PLAYERS

Posted: 4/17/2013 7:15pm et

Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews signed a five-year contract extension that is expected to pay just north of $13 million dollars a season.

Huddle Up: It was just a matter of time until the Packers inked Matthews to a deal, and now it's official: he'll be wearing green and gold and terrorizing opposing quarterbacks for the foreseeable future.

Posted: 2/19/2013 11:00pm et

The Green Bay Packers will likely have to make LB Clay Matthews one of the highest-paid linebackers in the league in order to get him to commit to a long-term deal. Matthews will count $4.91 million against the salary cap this year, making him the eighth-most expensive player heading into 2013. He will likely command a deal that would pay him $8 to $11 million per year that would guarantee him around $29.5 million. Green Bay also has the option of placing the franchise tag on Matthews for around $9 million.

Huddle Up: Matthews was limited to 12 games last year due to a balky hamstring but is certainly worth a sizable investment as he's notched the fourth-most sacks (42.5) in the league since entering the NFL in 2009.

Posted: 12/14/2012 9:35pm et

Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews (hamstring) is listed as probable for the Week 15 game against the Chicago Bears, but he might be limited in his number of snaps, according to head coach Mike McCarthy. 'I think we'd be smart to watch his reps. It's something we've talked about with him personally and a number of guys coming back,' McCarthy said Friday, Dec. 14. 'This is a very important game, but there's more left to be played after this game.'

Huddle Up: Matthews has to be charged up to go after a 6-week absence, but do expect his snaps to be rationed. That said, it's a great matchup for the LB, who wreaked havoc against the Bears with 7 tackles and 4 sacks in Week 2.

Posted: 12/12/2012 2:43pm et

Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews (hamstring) was participating during the media-access portion of practice Wednesday, Dec. 12.

Huddle Up: At least one of Green Bay's key defenders will be back. Charles Woodson will be out for at least one more week, but Matthews returns in what is a nice matchup against that Bears offensive line. If you own him in an IDP league and were able to hold out this long, time to get him in your lineup. This also dings Cutler a bit, though Matthews can't possibly get to him on every play, right?

Posted: 12/4/2012 6:17pm et

Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews (hamstring) had worked out Monday, Dec. 3, but it's unknown if he'll be able to return in Week 14.

Huddle Up: Matthews has missed a month now, and the Packers would like to have his pass-rushing skills for the season's final quarter. See what -- if anything -- Matthews can do this week in practice leading up to the Sunday night tilt against the Lions.

Posted: 11/30/2012 7:07pm et

Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews (hamstring), TE Andrew Quarless (knee), RB Johnny White (concussion) and DE C.J. Wilson (knee) did not practice Friday, Nov. 30, and are out for Week 13.

Huddle Up: The Pack will be without their top defensive player/pass rusher for the third consecutive game, and the lack of QB pressure was especially evident in Week 12 as Green Bay only sacked the Giants' Eli Manning once in a 38-10 blowout loss.

Posted: 11/26/2012 10:34pm et

Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers said LB Clay Matthews is making progress from his hamstring injury but is not sure if he will be ready for Week 13. Capers said the team does not want to bring Matthews back too early because the cold weather could affect the injury.

Huddle Up: Matthews has missed a pair of games since going down in Week 9, and the Green Bay defense demonstrated Sunday night how much it misses Matthews with only 1 sacks and 38 points allowed to the Giants.

Posted: 11/24/2012 12:17am et

Green Bay Packers LB Dezman Moses will make his second straight start in Week 12 against the New York Giants in place of the injured LB Clay Matthews (hamstring).

Huddle Up: Moses had a solid outing in Week 11 with a sack and a pair of QB hits. He'll be counted on for more of the same Sunday against Eli Manning and Co.

Posted: 11/14/2012 3:25pm et

Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said LB Clay Matthews (hamstring) will not play Week 11 and his status for Week 12 is uncertain at this point.

Huddle Up: Aside from the IDP implications, this is good news for the Lions offense. Already without Nick Perry and a decent pass rush outside Matthews, Matthew Stafford could be comfortable in the pocket all game long.

Posted: 11/13/2012 5:51pm et

Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews (hamstring) didn't practice Monday, Nov. 12, and appears to be a long shot to play in Week 11 against the Detroit Lions. LB Dezman Moses will likely start in Matthews' place.

Huddle Up: It appears as if the bye week wasn't enough for Matthews, who was injured in Week 9, and that's a break for QB Matthew Stafford and the Lions' offense.

Posted: 11/12/2012 7:57pm et

Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews (hamstring) will go through some tougher rehab Tuesday, Nov. 13, and the team will know more about his Week 11 status Wednesday, Nov. 14, according to head coach Mike McCarthy.

Huddle Up: Matthews suffered the injury in Week 9 and has had an extra week of rest with the bye to get ready. There will definitely be a better idea about his status later in the week.

Posted: 11/5/2012 11:33am et

Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews will be evaluated further Monday, Nov. 5, after pulling his hamstring in Week 9; however, this is an injury that plagued Matthews since his rookie season. He missed most of training camp in 2009 and 2010 because of a left hamstring pull, but was able to manage the injury during the regular season. It appeared Matthews injured the same hamstring, although that has not been confirmed.

Huddle Up: Matthews has dealt with this injury before and has a good idea how to handle it. With Green Bay on the bye this week he'll have additional time to rest before the Packers make their final regular season push; don't be surprised if he's limited in practice on a regular basis, but still manages to make it to the field on Sundays.

Posted: 11/4/2012 6:10pm et

Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews left in the third quarter of Sunday's Week 9 game with a hamstring injury and did not return.

Huddle Up: Mathews finished with no tackles and 1 QB hit in the contest, and he joins a growing list of banged-up Packers. The best news is that the team's bye week is now at hand, giving the gimpy Green & Gold players some extra time to heal.

Posted: 9/14/2012 12:13am et

Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews was credited with 3.5 sacks and 7 total tackles Thursday night in his team's 23-10 home win over the Chicago Bears.

Huddle Up: Matthews is well on his way to another Pro Bowl after simply abusing OT J'Marcus Webb and the Bears' offensive front Thursday night. Chicago QB Jay Cutler never had a chance, completing only 11-of-27 passes and throwing 4 interceptions.

Posted: 5/23/2012 6:52pm et

Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews has moved from left to right outside linebacker to make way for LB Nick Perry. The team, however, plans to move Matthews around more than ever this season. 'I hope so. That's the plan,' Matthews said. 'It's all about mismatches and preferable lineups. Whenever we can take advantage of that, playing on the right side, left side, middle, wherever you want me to play, we're all about that, so I hope that's the case.'

Huddle Up: Matthews is making way for rookie LB Nick Perry (first-round pick). The move to the right is no big deal in IDP terms; Matthews had 10 sacks and three fumble recoveries playing on the right as a rookie.