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‘Charles Woodson: A Football Life’ to premiere Friday on NFL Network

GREEN BAY — The NFL Network series “A Football Life” will feature an episode on former Packers CB and future Hall of Famer Charles Woodson on Friday at 8 p.m. CT.

Woodson signed with the Packers as a free agent in 2006 and played seven years in Green Bay before returning to Oakland, where he began his career in 1998 as  a Heisman Trophy winner out of Michigan. He won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2009 and a Super Bowl ring in 2010. He’s tied for fourth all-time in Packers history with 38 interceptions, and he set a franchise record with 10 defensive touchdowns.

‘A Football Life’ episodes on Brett Favre, Charles Woodson coming this fall

GREEN BAY — NFL Network’s “A Football Life” biographical series will be back for a sixth season this fall, with episodes on former Packers players Brett Favre and Charles Woodson scheduled.

The episode on Favre, who was just inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend, is slated for Friday, Oct. 21, at 8 p.m. CT. The one on Woodson, who just retired following the 2015 season, his 18th in the league, is Friday, Dec. 9, at 8 p.m. CT.

More details on the episodes will be released at a later date. There is also an episode planned on new Hall of Famer Kevin Greene, a former Packers outside linebackers coach, but an air date has not been announced.

Charles Woodson joins ESPN as NFL analyst

GREEN BAY — Former Packers DB Charles Woodson, who retired after the 2015 season following a second stint with the Oakland Raiders, is joining the ESPN crew as an NFL analyst.

ESPN has officially announced the hire, saying Woodson will be part of the Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown shows.

Woodson played 18 seasons in the NFL, his first eight with Oakland before coming to Green Bay as a free agent in 2006. He played seven seasons for the Packers, winning the 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award and a Super Bowl ring in 2010. He led the league in interceptions twice with the Packers, in ’09 (with nine) and ’11 (with seven), and he holds the Packers’ all-time record for interceptions returned for touchdowns with nine.

Woodson returned to the Raiders for three more seasons beginning in 2013 and went to his ninth Pro Bowl last month.

Packers player to be profiled on Top 100 segment Thursday

The NFL Network’s “Top 100 Players of 2013” is down to the top 40, and a Packers player will be profiled in the Nos. 40-31 segment scheduled to air at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday.

That player’s name and his ranking will be revealed during the show. Through the first 60 players, so far only one player who played for the Packers last season has been profiled. DB Charles Woodson, who played for Green Bay from 2006-12 and recently signed as a free agent with Oakland, was ranked No. 85.

The weekly series will continue each Thursday until only the top 10 remain. Back-to-back episodes at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. CT on June 27 will profile the top 10 players.

Update: The Packers player profiled on Thursday was LB Clay Matthews, who was ranked No. 31. To see the video of his profile, click here.

Group of Packers joins Team Gleason in ALS fight

Four Packers — Head Coach Mike McCarthy, QB Aaron Rodgers, LB Clay Matthews and C Jeff Saturday — contributed to the production of a new PSA to raise awareness of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, a disease that afflicts former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason.

You can view the PSA on Gleason’s “Team Gleason” website right here.

Gleason played for the Saints when McCarthy was offensive coordinator there. DB Charles Woodson also is participating in the effort, but he wasn’t featured in this first video release. Woodson is expected to be shown in an upcoming video.

Tramon Williams probable for Packers; Ponder, Winfield questionable for Vikings

Packers CB Tramon Williams, who missed Thursday’s practice due to illness, is listed as probable on the injury report for Saturday night’s game.

Of the four Packers pass-catchers on the injury report, only WR Jarrett Boykin (ankle) is out. WR Randall Cobb, WR Jordy Nelson and TE Jermichael Finley are all probable.

Also listed as probable are RB Alex Green, CB Davon House and DB Charles Woodson.

RB James Starks (knee) is listed as questionable, while DE Jerel Worthy (knee) is out. Worthy’s injury is season-ending.

The Vikings are listing two starters as questionable — QB Christian Ponder (elbow) and CB Antoine Winfield (hand). Ponder developed a sore elbow following a hit from Packers S Morgan Burnett on a blitz last Sunday but finished the game without incident. Winfield tried to play with a soft cast on his broken hand but removed himself from the game by halftime.

The only player the Vikings have ruled out is backup LB Tyrone McKenzie (shoulder). The other eight Vikings on the injury report — including starters DE Jared Allen, DE Brian Robison, S Harrison Smith and RB Adrian Peterson — are all probable.

Packers elect six playoff captains

The Packers have voted for and selected their six captains for the 2012 postseason.

They are QB Aaron Rodgers and WR James Jones on offense, LB Clay Matthews and DB Charles Woodson on defense, and DB Jarrett Bush and LB Jamari Lattimore on special teams.

Those six players will wear a “C” patch on their jerseys for Saturday night’s game against Minnesota and for as many postseason games as the Packers play. The Packers don’t have any players wear a “C” during the regular season, as some teams do, because they choose weekly captains to go out for the coin toss each game.

Rodgers, Woodson and Bush have all been elected playoff captains in past years.

Rodgers finished the regular season as the NFL’s top-rated passer for the second season in a row. He posted a 108.0 rating, more than two points higher than Denver’s Peyton Manning, who was second at 105.8. Rodgers completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 4,295 yards with 39 TDs and only eight interceptions.

Jones led the Packers and the league in TD receptions with 14. He became the first Packers player to lead the league in that category since Sterling Sharpe had 18 TD catches in 1994. Jones also set career highs this season in both receptions (64) and yards (784).

Matthews led the Packers in sacks with 13, which fell just one-half sack short of his career high set in 2010. He ranked fifth in the league despite missing four games.

Woodson had just one interception and 1 1/2 sacks this season but has missed the last nine games with a broken collarbone. He has been medically cleared to play in the playoffs.

Bush and Lattimore are two of the Packers’ four special teams players who recorded double digits in coverage tackles. Bush led the team with 17 and added a fumble recovery, while Lattimore recorded 10.

Randall Cobb in, Jordy Nelson out at practice Tues.

WR Randall Cobb was practicing during the media portion of the Packers’ jog-thru workout on Tuesday, but WR Jordy Nelson was not.

Cobb missed last week’s game with knee and ankle injuries but appears on track to return this week for the rematch in the NFC Wild Card playoff against the Vikings. Nelson injured his knee in last Sunday’s game at the Metrodome and came out briefly but returned to catch a game-tying TD pass in the fourth quarter.

Also not practicing on Tuesday were WR Jarrett Boykin (ankle) and DE Jerel Worthy (knee), who both left Sunday’s game with injuries.

CB Davon House was back at practice after missing last week’s game, and DB Charles Woodson continued to practice and could be on track to return after missing the final nine games of the regular season.

At running back, Alex Green didn’t play in last Sunday’s game but was practicing. Also, RB James Starks was at practice with helmet in hand, but in the portion open to the media did not appear to be participating.

Mike McCarthy will address the media after practice, near the top of the hour.

Post-practice update: Cobb spoke with reporters after practice and said he expects to play on Saturday.

“It was about a 50-50 decision,” Cobb said of sitting out last Sunday in Minnesota. “We felt it was the best option to hold out and I think I’ll be ready to go this week.”

McCarthy declined to comment on Nelson’s absence from practice, however, only saying he’d have more information on Wednesday. The first official injury report of the week will be on Wednesday.

Charles Woodson ruled out again

Following the recommendation of the team’s medical staff, Mike McCarthy has ruled out DB Charles Woodson (collarbone) for Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Vikings.

Recently, McCarthy spoke of wanting to get Woodson in a game prior to the playoffs, because he hasn’t played since breaking the collarbone in St. Louis on Oct. 21. This week will mark the ninth straight game he’s missed.

“We were hopeful this was going to be the game,” McCarthy said. “This is his fourth week now going through practice.

“I know he’s disappointed. This is a game he’d really like to play in.”

Woodson continues to work on the scout team in practice.

The defensive line could be in better shape than it’s been in a while, however. DE C.J. Wilson returned to practice on a limited basis. he has missed the last four games with a knee injury. Also, DE Jerel Worthy was back at practice as a limited participant after missing last week’s game with a hamstring injury.

“C.J. Wilson is doing everything he possibly can to get on the field,” McCarthy said, adding that Thursday will be a big day for Wilson, as the team practices in full pads for the first time in a few weeks. “He wants to play.”

Charles Woodson aiming for next week

Packers DB Charles Woodson has been ruled out again for Sunday’s game, leaving him only one more opportunity to return to the field prior to the playoffs.

Woodson, who hasn’t played since breaking his collarbone in St. Louis on Oct. 21, expects to take the field next Sunday in Minnesota and sounds anxious to do so.

“I just want to get in the game,” Woodson said. “It’s been way too long. I’ve been watching too much football from the sidelines. Even though they’re great seats, I’d much rather be playing.”

That said, Woodson doesn’t feel he’ll need a lot of time to get himself playoff-ready. The 15-year veteran has no doubts he can step right back in to Dom Capers’ defense and be an effective player. He said he’s done every drill in practice over the last few weeks, and a game is “the only drill left.”

“Next week will kind of take care of itself, and we’ll see if we should get out there and run around a little bit,” Woodson said. “I feel like whenever the time comes, I can go out there. I know how to play football. I know the defense, so when that time comes, I’ll be ready.”

If Woodson does indeed play next week at Minnesota, one of the first hits to his healed collarbone could come from Vikings RB Adrian Peterson, one of the league’s most punishing runners who could be trying to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards.

That could make for a rude and rather dangerous return after missing eight games, but Woodson acknowledged that’s part of being a pro, handling those mental hurdles.

“Once you get into the game, I think all of those thoughts kind of flee your mind,” he said. “I’ll think about it for sure before I get out there on the field, but once I get out there on the field, it’s time to play football.”

Injury update: The Packers have listed RB Alex Green as questionable this week coming off a concussion. Green didn’t practice all week and hasn’t been medically cleared yet, but Mike McCarthy was anticipating Green would get clearance before Sunday. That said, it could be a heavy dose of Ryan Grant and DuJuan Harris in the ground game for Sunday.

DE Jerel Worthy (hamstring) is also listed as questionable. Worthy returned to practice on Friday after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday.