Packers activate Raven Greene off injured reserve in time for NFC Championship

It has been more than four months since Raven Greene last played in a live football game. The Green Bay Packers safety landed on injured reserve following the team’s week two win over the Minnesota Vikings, having suffered a serious ankle injury. But on Saturday, Greene returned to active status, as the Packers reactivated him off IR.

In returning to the roster, Greene gives the Packers a valuable special teams player as well as someone who was expected to be a huge part of the defense in 2019. Greene began the regular season as the Packers’ starter at inside linebacker next to Blake Martinez, and the defense played tremendously well in the opening two games without him, allowing 10 and 16 points to the Chicago Bears and Vikings, respectively.

While Greene is a welcome addition back on the roster, his role will be difficult to predict before kickoff in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. While the Packers may use him in his hybrid safety/linebacker role, they have been putting Ibraheim Campbell on the field in that capacity since his own return from the PUP list around midseason. In addition, the Packers have used a 2-4-5 alignment with three outside linebackers and Martinez on the field often in recent weeks, lessening the need for a second inside linebacker in many situations. Indeed, Greene could find himself as a healthy scratch when the inactives list comes out shortly before game time.

When JK Scott landed on the injury report on Saturday morning after catching the illness going around the locker room, there seemed to be a real possibility that the Packers might use their open roster spot to sign another punter on an emergency basis. However, Greene’s activation may be an indication that Scott was showing improvement by the roster transaction deadline at 3:00 PM Central, as the Packers are now unable to make any other changes to the 53 before Sunday’s game begins.