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Green Bay Packers mum on Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers meeting with NFL

By The Sports Xchange
Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Clay Matthews (52) gets a high-five after defeating the Washington Redskins 35-18 in their NFC Wild Card game at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, January 10, 2016. Photo by David Tulis/UPI
1 of 3 | Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Clay Matthews (52) gets a high-five after defeating the Washington Redskins 35-18 in their NFC Wild Card game at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, January 10, 2016. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo

DE PERE, Wisc. - Packers linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers were scheduled to meet with NFL investigators in Green Bay on Wednesday regarding their alleged involvement with performance-enhancing drugs.

Those with the team were mostly tight-lipped about the matter, which has dragged on since the start of training camp a month ago.

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Matthews and Peppers didn't appear in the locker room during a nearly hour-long access period for reporters Wednesday afternoon, when the Packers didn't practice in advance of their preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday night (10 p.m. ET).

General manager Ted Thompson subsequently held his weekly news conference but refused to say much after he made some initial comments about the investigation last week. At that time, Thompson said the organization has always supported and will continue to support its players.

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Thompson had a short reply when asked Wednesday whether the interviews being granted by Matthews and Peppers with the league help to bring the case closer to resolution.

"I'm going to stick to my earlier (comments), and I'm out of this," Thompson said. "So, I'm not going to comment on it. I don't mean to belittle your question, it's a valid question, it's just I'm not going to be one of the people adding my voice to this."

Matthews and Peppers are among four players the NFL planned to interview in the next week regarding their alleged connection to PEDs per a television report by the Al-Jazeera network last December.

On Aug. 15, the two Green Bay defensive standouts as well as Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison and ex-Packers linebacker Mike Neal were named in a letter sent by NFL executive Adolpho Birch to the NFL Players Association. That letter detailed a plan to indefinitely suspend those players if they didn't speak with league investigators by Aug. 25.

The threat of suspension came long after Charlie Sly, a former intern at an anti-aging clinic who made the doping allegations against several professional athletes in the TV report, recanted his claims.

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Matthews and Peppers maintained their innocence when they last spoke to reporters the first few days of training camp.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and a few other teammates voiced their support for the veteran leaders this week.

"It'll be nice for those guys to get it behind them and move forward without this hanging over their heads," Rodgers said.

--Rodgers' extensive work in the team's only two open practices this week was a good sign the 32-year-old star will make his belated preseason debut Friday.

"I think I'm going to play," Rodgers said Tuesday.

Though he made the declaration early in training camp that he felt ready to start the season, Rodgers is open to getting some game action before the preseason ends next week. Head coach Mike McCarthy said the goal is to play Rodgers against the 49ers, but the playing-time details weren't going to be known in-house until Wednesday.

"Whatever Mike wants me to do," said Rodgers, who wouldn't speculate how long he would play back in his native Northern California.

Keeping Rodgers and the rest of the healthy starters on offense on the field for at least a quarter seems realistic. The Packers aren't expected to have top backup quarterback Brett Hundley, who aggravated an ankle injury as the starter in the win over the Oakland Raiders last week and didn't practice this week.

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After Rodgers, the Packers would turn to undrafted rookies Joe Callahan and Marquise Williams.

"I'm not sure how long (McCarthy) wants me to play, but it'll be good to get out there and get some work with the guys," Rodgers said.

Rodgers' expectation is he will be among several starters whom McCarthy will rest for the preseason finale, Sept. 1 at the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers then will be idle until they open the season Sept. 11 at the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While feeling the offense doesn't need him on the field in a preseason contest to be sufficiently prepared for Week 1, Rodgers says what little game action he gets before then will benefit his conditioning to be able to play four quarters when the season starts.

Rodgers also is looking forward to get his teammates moving at a good pace in Green Bay's no-huddle offense.

"It'll be good to feel the tempo if I play (Friday) -- I'm expected to play," Rodgers said. "So, if I play Friday, it'll be good to feel the tempo out there if we get some stuff in the no-huddle that we're used to."

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Rodgers also will get a feel for newly named starting center JC Tretter and veteran Jared Cook, a newcomer at tight end, in a game setting.

"It's going to be a good test just to see how he runs the offense, how he calls the plays and for me to keep up," said Cook, who signed with the Packers in the offseason after being cut by the Los Angeles Rams.

--The timing of Rodgers' first preseason game jibes with the return of top receiver Jordy Nelson to practice in the last week.

However, a year after Nelson sustained a season-ending torn ACL in a preseason game at the Pittsburgh Steelers, the ninth-year pro isn't expected to play Friday. Nelson strongly hinted he also won't play in the Packers' final preseason game next week.

Nelson emphasized the goal is to be ready for opening day Sept. 11.

He said being tackled in a game situation before then isn't important in his comeback from not only the ACL injury in his right knee but also an injury to his left knee that kept him sidelined the first three weeks of training camp.

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After being activated from the physically unable to perform list Aug. 17 and participating in pregame warmups in uniform the next night, Nelson was limited to individual drills in practice this week. McCarthy hopes to get Nelson involved in team segments at practice next week.

"We're progressing," Nelson said. "Obviously, we're going to see how the body reacts. It's how it is every time you go do something."

Nelson surprised himself in one regard in his first big practice day since his return on Monday. He ran several pass routes on air and caught passes primarily from Rodgers but also from Joe Callahan and Marquise Williams.

"I felt better (Monday), honestly, than what I thought I was going to be, wind-wise, conditioning-wise, of running those routes and being full padded and everything," Nelson said. "So, I thought that was a good sign."

Nether Nelson nor Rodgers is concerned about their timing in the passing game being disrupted even if they don't play a game together before the end of the preseason.

"We've got a thousand reps together (from the past)," Rodgers said.

Rodgers referenced a throw he made to Nelson in a one-on-one drill against Pro Bowl cornerback Sam Shields in practice Tuesday.

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"I quipped to (quarterbacks coach) Alex (Van Pelt), 'I could throw that ball with my eyes closed' because I know exactly where he's going to be," Rodgers said. "That's the beauty of us playing together for a long time."

--Corey Linsley lost his starting job, but the demoted center doesn't believe his season is lost because of a vexing hamstring injury that has kept him off the field since camp opened in late July.

"I'm not giving up on that. I'm not out for the year," Linsley said Tuesday. "But, it's a matter of when this thing is going to heal, you know? So, it's frustrating from that aspect, but you've just got to deal with it."

Linsley aggravated a torn hamstring when he was working out on his own shortly before camp started. He originally suffered the injury in the spring, when he was with the team but wasn't participating in on-the-field activities as he completed his recovery from an ankle injury that cost him three games late in the season.

Though optimistic he won't need surgery, Linsley could be ticketed to the reserve/physically unable to perform list after being the only Packer presently on the active PUP list. Starting the season on PUP would keep Linsley sidelined a minimum six weeks.

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Linsley was accepting of McCarthy's announcement Monday that Tretter, a fourth-year pro, is the starter at center. Two years ago, a knee injury sustained by Tretter late in the preseason opened the door for then-rookie Linsley to start at center, a job the fifth-round draft pick held for two seasons.

"There's nothing I could do about it," Linsley said. "I'm not out there practicing. They've got to go with who's practicing, and JC's a great player, and I think everybody knows that.

"I'm not out there competing with the guys, and just like Mike said, availability's important. But, I'm confident in what I can do, and I've shown what I can do, so you've just got to rest back on your confidence and then get healthy."

--The Packers cut three players this week after reaching injury settlements with each of them.

They included first-year guard Matt Rotheram (biceps) and a pair of undrafted rookies - offensive tackle Josh James (hamstring) and long snapper Jesse Schmitt (broken hand).

That leaves Green Bay with 88 players on the roster, two short of the maximum. The first round of camp cuts to 75 players must be done by Tuesday afternoon.

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