There's simply no doubting that Green Bay Packers GM Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy would like to get Clay Matthews back to his home on the outside and terrorizing opposing quarterbacks in as expedient a manner as possible.
The unheralded Sam Barrington has certainly shown improvement and there were glimpses from Carl Bradford, but nothing that provides Thomspon, McCarthy and defensive coordinator Dom Capers with enough certainty to say that the problem is solved at the inside linebacker position and Matthews can go back to being a pass-rushing outside linebacker on a full-time basis.
According to Geoff Mosher of CSN Philly, the Packers are a team to keep an "eye on" in the next few days as Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks, set to enter the final year of his rookie deal, stays away from Eagles offseason workouts in search of either a new deal or a trade to a team that will pay him commensurate to his production.
"I think Kendricks is a strong candidate to get dealt, especially after the first or second round. There aren't many upper-echelon inside linebackers in this year's draft, so a team that misses out in the first two rounds could dial up the Eagles and work a trade for picks," writes Mosher.
The Packers and Thompson, of course, have been linked to nearly every inside linebacker prospect in the looming 2015 NFL Draft. A report early in the pre-draft process said that both Thompson and Capers were high on Clemson's Stephone Anthony and a separate report alleged that Thompson "loves" Miami's Denzel Perryman.
Should the Packers miss on Anthony and Perryman in the early rounds, Kendricks could be a nice fallback option. Or, the team could forego the uncertainty of the draft altogether and make the move for Kendricks now.
Mosher's fellow Philly counterpart, Jeff McLane, points out that Kendricks, who was on vacation in Costa Rica while the rest of the Eagles players convened for voluntary offseason workouts last week, was praised by head coach Chip Kelly after last season - but that the praise felt somehow lukewarm.
"When he was healthy, he played really well for us," Kelly said. "But we missed him for ... four games. And the health aspect was a difficult thing. We were a different team without him on the field. But when he played, he played really well for us."
Kendricks did play well when healthy - he posted 83 tackles, four sacks and three forced fumbles in just 12 games last year - but his struggle to return to the field after a hamstring strain reportedly left Kelly feeling frustrated.
With the trade for Kiko Alonso and the extension handed to DeMeco Ryans, Kendricks could find himself elsewhere by the start of next season.
"Kendricks is a havoc-wreaker, but he's under 6 feet and doesn't always play with discipline," writes Mosher. "He also has an extremely high opinion of himself. When Pro Bowl names came out last year, Kendricks said he thought he played as well as any linebacker who made the team."
With the still just 24-year-old Kendricks looking to get paid like a Pro Bowler - after performing like one - but an imperfect fit for Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis' scheme, the Packers and Thompson could potentially be able to acquire the young 'backer from the Eagles, killing two linebacking birds with one stone - assuming they're willing to pony up the dough, to the Eagles and to Kendricks, of course.
