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Packers declare Clay Matthews out against Titans

GREEN BAY — Clay Matthews will miss his third consecutive game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday due a hamstring injury, Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy confirmed Friday morning.

While Matthews won’t be available, McCarthy said he doesn’t have any long-term concern regarding Matthews’ hamstring, which flared up again late last week.

“I had a chance to talk with Clay (on Thursday),” McCarthy said. “He’s making progress, (but) just won’t be available this week.”

Matthews’ hamstring issues began in Week 2 against Minnesota, causing him to sit out of the Packers’ home-opener against Detroit on Sept. 25.

He returned after the Packers’ Week 4 bye week to start the next three games before experiencing tightness near end of the Packers’ 26-10 win over Chicago on Oct. 20.

Matthews practiced last week and appeared to be nearing a return before experiencing a setback last Friday and sitting out of Sunday’s 31-26 loss to Indianapolis.

The six-time Pro Bowl linebacker has 13 tackles and three sacks in five games this season. With Matthews out, the Packers will again turn to Nick Perry and Julius Peppers to keep pressure on Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota.

McCarthy didn’t make any other declarations on the team’s injured players, but said tight end Jared Cook (ankle), and running back James Starks (knee) and cornerback Damarious Randall (groin) continue to make progress after participating in Thursday’s padded practice.

“James is very close and we’ll see how Jared is come Saturday,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy added that receiver Randall Cobb should be a full go Sunday against the Titans. Cobb played only in the second half against the Colts due to a hamstring injury that sidelined him a week earlier against Atlanta.

Packers name Week 1 captains for Jaguars game

As per team tradition, the Packers select game captains each week. Today’s captains will be WR Randall Cobb (offense), LB Clay Matthews (defense) and DB Micah Hyde (special teams).

Clay Matthews part of new ‘Sunday Night Football’ theme song

GREEN BAY — Packers LB Clay Matthews is part of the new “Sunday Night Football” theme song being recorded by Carrie Underwood.

Shooting for the new “SNF” intro has been going on this week as Underwood has recorded a new song for the opening for the first time in a decade. “SNF” has used “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night,” performed by multiple artists and most recently by Underwood, for the past 10 years.

Matthews was featured in the video montage for the theme song over the last few years and is being used again, along with several other high-profile NFL stars.

The new song is entitled, “Oh, Sunday Night” and is a re-worked version of “Something Bad,” an Underwood duet with Miranda Lambert.

The new intro will debut on Sunday, Sept. 11, when the Cardinals play the Patriots. The Packers are scheduled for three Sunday night games in 2016 — at Minnesota on Sept. 18, at home vs. the New York Giants on Oct. 9, and at Washington on Nov. 20. Flex scheduling could change the number of Green Bay appearances on Sunday night.

Packers Pro Bowl selections join Team Rice together

Packers Pro Bowl selections found out which teams they were assigned to for Sunday’s Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Pro Football Hall of Fame WRs Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice, serving as team captains, built their rosters for the annual all-star game in a fantasy football-style draft.

LB Clay Matthews (six-time selection), FB John Kuhn (three) and G Josh Sitton (three) were pre-selected to Team Rice prior to the televised Pro Bowl draft. Julius Peppers (nine) joined his Green Bay teammates when Team Rice selected him and named him a starter.

QB Aaron Rodgers received Pro Bowl honors for a fifth time but will not participate due to injury. Raiders QB Derek Carr will replace him.

The Packers coaching staff was assigned to Team Irvin and will be facing off against their Green Bay players.

The Packers announced Wednesday that Head Coach Mike McCarthy will not attend the Pro Bowl in Hawaii because of a stomach illness. Associate Head Coach/Linebackers Winston Moss will assume McCarthy’s head-coaching responsibilities at the game.

Packers on Team Rice
*FB John Kuhn
*LB Clay Matthews
G Josh Sitton
*LB Julius Peppers

Packers on Team Irvin
Packers coaching staff

* Selected as starter

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers currently fourth overall in Pro Bowl voting

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers currently ranks fourth overall in the online fan voting for the Pro Bowl with only one week left for fans to vote.

New England QB Tom Brady has collected the most votes thus far (502,913), followed by Carolina QB Cam Newton (473,460), Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton (389,062), Rodgers (359,158) and New England TE Rob Gronkowski (355,271).

The Packers also have one player ranked in the top two in voting at his position, LB Clay Matthews. He has the second-most votes among all inside linebackers, behind only Carolina’s Luke Kuechly.

Voting continues until Tuesday, Dec. 15. Fans can vote by clicking here. The fan vote counts one-third in the selection process, with players and coaches casting their votes late next week. The Pro Bowl players will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 22, live on NFL Network.

Rodgers and Matthews in top 20 of NFL’s top-selling jerseys

Two Packers players have cracked the NFL’s top 20 for jerseys sold since Thanksgiving (11/26 – 12/2). QB Aaron Rodgers ranked No. 4 in the NFL, just behind Tom Brady, Odell Beckham Jr. and Rob Gronkowski. LB Clay Matthews‘ jersey was the 17th most popular in the NFL during this time period.

1. Tom Brady, New England Patriots
2. Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants
3. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
4. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
5. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
6. Luke Kuechly, Carolina Panthers
7. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys
8. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
9. J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
10. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
11. Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
12. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
13. Julian Edelman, New England Patriots
14. 12s, Seattle Seahawks
15. Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
16. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
17. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers
18. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
19. Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans
20. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
21. Eli Manning, New York Giants
22. Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings
23. Brock Osweiler, Denver Broncos
24. Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders
25. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

Rodgers, Matthews and Banjo selected as captains vs. Vikings

As per team tradition, the Packers select game captains each week. Today’s captains will be QB Aaron Rodgers (offense), LB Clay Matthews (defense) and S Chris Banjo (special teams).

Pitch Perfect Packers appear on TODAY show

It began with a tweet.

Green Bay Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari shared his love for the 2012 hit movie Pitch Perfect on his Twitter account, which ultimately landed him and Packers teammates Clay Matthews, Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang and Don Barclay roles in the sequel, Pitch Perfect 2, which was released earlier this year.

As part of the NFL’s “Together We Make Football” series, the Packers movie stars were featured on NBC’s TODAY show Friday morning, where they provided a behind-the-scenes look at their journey to the silver screen.

Watch the TODAY show segment

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Bakhtiari, Matthews and Hyde selected as captains vs. 49ers

As per team tradition, the Packers select game captains each week. Today’s captains will be T David Bakhtiari (offense), LB Clay Matthews (defense) and DB Micah Hyde (special teams).

Packers head to Pitch Perfect 2 premiere