PHILADELPHIA -- Veteran Packers LB Clay Matthews made need to move back to the inside tonight against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
With both starting inside LBs, Jake Ryan (ankle) and Blake Martinez (knee) out, the Packers are down to just Joe Thomas and Carl Bradford at the position, and Bradford was just signed to the active roster from the practice squad last week. His only NFL action on defense was in the fourth quarter last week at Washington.
That could mean Matthews will line up next to Thomas in the Packers' base and nickel packages Monday night, a position he played starting midway through 2014 and most of last season to help shore up Green Bay's run defense.
Ryan was questionable on the injury report and expected to play after missing most of the last two games with the ankle injury. He hurt it two weeks ago early in the first quarter on punt coverage at Tennessee. But 90 minutes before kickoff, when inactives were turned in to league officials, Ryan was on the list and will not play.
CB Damarious Randall is active, though, after missing the last five games with a groin injury, and G Don Barclay is also active after sitting out the second half last week with a shoulder injury. Barclay is expected to start at RG in place of the injured T.J. Lang (foot), with rookie Jason Spriggs backing him up.
Weather update: It should be a decent night for football at Lincoln Financial Field. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-40s with very minimal chance of rain and very light winds.
Division race: The Packers need to win in order to stay two games back in the NFC North. Detroit's three-point victory over Minnesota on Thanksgiving Day improved the Lions to 7-4 and dropped the Vikings to 6-5. With a win, the Packers would improve to 5-6.
A loss would drop Green Bay to 4-7, three games back with only five to play.
Long time no see: This is the Packers' first trip to Philadephia since coming here twice in 2010 -- once to open the season and again to open the playoffs in the wild-card round. The Packers won both of those games, their first victories in the City of Brotherly Love since 1962.
Potential Packers debut: RB Christine Michael could see his first action in a Green Bay uniform tonight. Michael arrived off the waiver wire a little over a week ago but was inactive for last week's game at Washington.
Michael had six rushing TDs this season for the Seahawks before getting waived. The Packers don't have a running back with a rushing TD this year. The only rushing TDs, three of them, have been scored by QB Aaron Rodgers.
