Packers Designate Safety Raven Greene to Return From IR Ahead of Playoff Run

Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur will have one of his prized defensive players back manning the secondary for the Packers' opening playoff matchup on January 12th. Safety Raven Greene will be fully active for the game, and practiced with the team Thursday in his first on-field action since succumbing to an ankle injury in Week 2.

Whether or not he'll be able to help the team at his fullest strength remains to be seen, however. When posed this question, LaFleur responded with the word "potentially."

"It's still an evaluation for him but definitely nice to work him back out there today," he said.

Greene was an FCS national champion in college at James Madison, and after successfully signing on with Green Bay as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and playing in eight games, he slid into the starting job for defensive coordinator Mike Pettines' nickel-sub package at the inception of the LaFleur era. He held that position up until the regular season opener aginst Chicago, but went down with a an ankle issue in Week 2.

He was stuck using crutches for the majority of the season, but told Packers.com that he had begun running and cutting a few weeks ago. “It was a process, obviously,” he told reporters. “The training staff and everybody showed a lot of support for me, so I’m just glad to be in this position, with a chance to come back and just help contribute quite possibly.”

Thus, the team utilized one of their two available designations to activate the hybrid safety off of injured reserve, and are hoping his prior production will return along with his health. The team ranked 14th in total defense and 18th in defending the pass during the regular season.