The Packers Injuries At Outside Linebacker

I'm really glad the Green Bay Packers are practicing for real on Friday because I'm getting irritated by these phantom injury reports. If they had practiced on Thursday, LB Erik Walden and LB Frank Zombo would not have practiced. The reality is that both players are hurting.

While neither is an essential part of the defense, it hurts that they both play the same outside linebacker position. This group of linebackers has been hit hard by injuries all season long, and only LB Robert Francois stands behind them. I guess they'll prepare either one of the backup inside linebackers, Matt Wilhelm or Diyral Briggs, to backup Francois, but I can't recall either one of them taking a snap on defense all season long.

They've got five linebackers on I.R. Starting inside linebackers Nick Barnett and Brandon Chillar. Starting outside linebacker Brad Jones, and backup outside linebackers Brady Poppinga. The fifth linebacker is Spencer Havner, who I think played inside during the preseason. While Barnett and Chillar are better on the inside, having even one of them or Jones available for the Super Bowl would make a difference, but the season is over for all three of them.