NFC North

The Green Bay Packers reportedly were dealt a blow to their defense.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that veteran linebacker Whitney Mercilus, who signed with the team Oct. 21, suffered a torn biceps in Sunday's win over the Seattle Seahawks and will miss the remainder of the season.

Mercilus was brought in to help improve Green Bay's pass-rush which had been dealing with the absence of star linebacker Za'Darius Smith, who hasn't played since Week 1 and is on injured reserve with a back injury. Mercilus recorded his first sack as a Packer in Sunday's victory.

A 10-year veteran out of Illinois, Mercilus was released by the Houston Texans last month after spending his entire career with the team. The Texans selected him with the 26th overall pick in the 2012 draft, and he had 57 sacks, 72 tackles for losses, 13 forced fumbles and 115 quarterback hits during his time in Houston.

Mercilus saw his playing time get cut this season as the Texans made an effort to get meaningful reps for their younger players. The 31-year-old had started two of the six games he played for Houston after starting a total of 28 games in the previous two years.

The Packers rank ninth in the NFL with 24 total sacks. Third-year linebacker Rashan Gary leads the team with 5.5 sacks while three players have three apiece. Gary suffered an elbow injury against the Seahawks, but he reportedly intends to play through it by wearing a brace and is set to undergo an MRI on Tuesday. 

The Packers improved to 8-2 with the win over Seattle. Green Bay will look to keep its momentum going in next Sunday's road matchup against the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings.

The Green Bay Packers will offer fans the chance to buy "ownership" stocks in the team for $300 apiece, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, though he added the shares will "have no value, pay no dividend and allow no say in team matters."

Demovsky noted that the team has held similar sales in 1923, 1935, 1950, 1997 and 2011. 

Because the Packers are publicly owned and don't have one owner to infuse money into the franchise, the NFL will allow the team to hold stock sales from time to time, though the money "can be used only for things like stadium and facilities improvement projects and cannot be used for operating expenses or anything involving players," per Demovsky.

Per team bylaws, no one person is permitted to hold more than 200,000 shares in the team. Currently, 5,009,479 shares are held by a total of 361,362 stockholders.

In the latest sale, 300,000 more shares will reportedly be made available. Individuals will be capped at purchasing 200 shares, which will include any they may have bought in 1997 or 2011. 

"We appreciate the interest that fans have expressed in our sixth stock offering," Packers president Mark Murphy said in a statement Monday. "While we are not yet in a position to fully discuss the offering, we do have some initial information that we can share for fans to consider. We look forward to formally launching the offering tomorrow."

The Packers have a seven-person executive committee, headed by Murphy, and a 42-person board of directors.

Per the team's website, "Green Bay Packers Inc. has been a publicly owned, nonprofit corporation since Aug. 18, 1923, when original articles of incorporation were filed with Wisconsin's secretary of state."

The Packers are the only publicly owned team in any of the four major sports leagues in the U.S. (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL).  

Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones has reportedly been diagnosed with a "mild" MCL sprain and is expected to miss one-to-two weeks, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Jones suffered the injury during Green Bay's Week 10 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field, leaving the game in the third quarter.

Jones is known for his versatility in Green Bay's offense. Through 10 games, he has 541 rushing yards and three scores to go along with 37 catches for 298 yards and another four touchdowns.

A fifth-year veteran out of UTEP, Jones is a workhorse running back for the Packers. He's had over 200 carries and 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons. He shared the league lead with 16 rushing touchdowns in 2019.

The 26-year-old was named to his first Pro Bowl last season after rushing for a career-high 1,104 yards with nine touchdowns. Jones signed a four-year, $48 million contract this past offseason to remain with Green Bay.

At 8-2, the Packers are one of the top contenders in the NFC this year. But losing Jones for any amount of time would make it hard for the team to maintain its status in the title hunt.

With Jones sidelined, second-year running back AJ Dillon will be thrust into the starting role. Against the Seahawks, Dillon carried the ball 21 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns and added two catches for 62 yards. Playing primarily as a backup, Dillon has 421 rushing yards and two touchdowns this season.

Green Bay doesn't have many other options behind Dillon. Rookie running back Kylin Hill is on injured reserve with a knee injury. Rookie Patrick Taylor, who has spent time on the Packers practice squad, will likely serve as the backup while Jones is sidelined.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was emotional after helping lead his team to a 17-0 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday's game after missing a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs because he tested positive for COVID-19.

He told reporters he was targeting a return against the Seahawks and also said there were "a lot of emotions, for sure" that left him "a little misty heading off."

Yet Rodgers is still risking missing key games for a championship contender because he is unvaccinated. 

He was asked how he would react if that status cost him a playoff game and told reporters, "I don't really like playing the what-if game. What I do know is I have more than two months now where my protocol is not testing every single day. That's the only thing I'm thinking about."

Rodgers wasn't the reason the Packers won the game.

Rather, the defense was brilliant while shutting down Russell Wilson, who was making his own return for the first time since he suffered a finger injury on Oct. 7. Green Bay picked him off twice and held the visitors to 75 rushing yards while setting the tone with its physical defense.

Rodgers was better than his counterpart but still didn't throw a touchdown and was picked off in the end zone. Fortunately for him, running back AJ Dillon stepped in for the injured Aaron Jones and scored two touchdowns as the key playmaker for the offense.

Yet it was the return of No. 12 that was the primary storyline.

After all, he made national headlines for an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show when he made dubious medical claims, took issue with the criticism he received for remaining unvaccinated and only brought his situation far more attention.

The NFL also fined the Packers $300,000 and Rodgers and wide receiver Allen Lazard $14,650 each for violating the league's protocols.

A return to the field means the narrative shifts back to football, at least for now. His Packers are sitting atop the NFC at 8-2 and are on the shortlist of Super Bowl contenders.          

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf was ejected from Sunday's 17-0 loss to the Green Bay Packers with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter after getting into an altercation with Henry Black.

Metcalf grabbed Black's mask before exchanging pleasantries with a few other Green Bay defenders. The 23-year-old also appeared not to know he had been ejected because he tried to go back on the field a play or two later.

Metcalf told reporters after the game that the ejection was a result of frustration and that he is "tired of losing."

It's unclear if Metcalf will face any further discipline for his actions in Sunday's game. However, unsportsmanlike conduct can earn a player a $12,875 fine for a first offense and $18,025 fine for a second offense. Fighting also has a $36,148 fine for a first offense.

The entire Seattle offense struggled against Green Bay on Sunday, and Metcalf was understandably frustrated. The Ole Miss product finished with his lowest output of the season—three catches for 26 yards on eight targets. It was his lowest output since Week 17 of the 2020 season when he had just three catches for 21 yards in a win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Tyler Lockett, meanwhile, had just two catches for 23 yards, while running back Alex Collins rushed for 41 yards on 10 carries.

Sunday's game was quarterback Russell Wilson's first since a Week 5 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The seven-time Pro Bowler had been sidelined with a finger injury, which required surgery.

Wilson completed just 20-of-40 passes for 161 yards and two interceptions on Sunday. He hadn't thrown two interceptions in a game since Week 10 of the 2020 campaign. It was also his first game without a passing touchdown since that same week.

Sunday's loss dropped the Seahawks to 3-6 on the season. They sit fourth in the NFC West, and it's now unlikely they can compete with the Rams and Arizona Cardinals for the top spot in the division.

The Green Bay Packers believe running back Aaron Jones suffered a sprained MCL during Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Jones will undergo further testing to confirm the injury, although the Packers ruled him out for the remainder of the contest.

The 26-year-old entered play with 516 rushing yards, 237 receiving yards and seven total touchdowns.

The former UTEP star broke out after getting a chance as the Packers' unquestioned No. 1 back in 2019, gaining 1,558 yards from scrimmage and scoring an NFL-high 19 touchdowns to help the Packers go 13-3, win the NFC North and reach the NFC Championship Game. He stayed as the No. 1 back in 2020, earning 1,459 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns.

Thanks in part to Jones' efforts, the Packers again went 13-3 during the 2020 regular season.

AJ Dillon will surely see the majority of the action at running back while Jones is sidelined.

Aaron Rodgers is back.

After sitting out the Green Bay Packers' Week 9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs following a positive COVID-19 test, the quarterback will return for Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

Rodgers' status was in doubt since he was required to isolate for 10 days because he is unvaccinated, and he was only eligible to return Saturday. That meant he missed the entire week of practice leading up to the contest.

He also said there was a "small possibility" he wouldn't play during an interview on Tuesday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show.

Green Bay looked largely lost offensively without Rodgers during the 13-7 loss to the Chiefs, and quarterback Jordan Love struggled in his place, completing 19 of 34 passes for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

That wasn't the only fallout from the Rodgers situation, as ESPN's Rob Demovsky reported the NFL fined the team $300,000 for violating the league's health and safety protocols. Rodgers and Allen Lazard were also each fined $14,650.

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo noted the quarterback and wide receiver were fined for attending a maskless Halloween party. Rodgers also broke NFL rules by conducting press conferences without a mask as an unvaccinated player.

"We respect the League's findings and we recognize the importance of adherence to the COVID protocols to keep our team and organization safe and healthy," the Packers said in a statement. "We will continue to educate the team regarding the importance of the protocols and remain committed to operating within the protocols."

Rodgers' status as an unvaccinated player became a much bigger story when he appeared on McAfee's show on Friday, Nov. 5, and discussed the politicization of vaccines, the "woke mob" and the criticism he received for initially saying he was "immunized" when asked about his status in August (h/t Jacob Lev of CNN).

The nine-time Pro Bowler also compared himself to Martin Luther King Jr., said he went to podcast host Joe Rogan for medical advice and suggested he would have better immunity from getting COVID than those who received the vaccine

Despite the quarterback's claims, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced vaccines offered approximately five times more protection than antibodies from previous COVID-19 infections.

Ashley Boucher and Steve Helling of People reported Rodgers was "upset" and "feels like he just shared his point of view, and now he's being crucified for it" after he was criticized for the interview.

Yet he appeared on McAfee's show (h/t Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Post-Gazette) again Tuesday during a follow-up and said, "I acknowledge I am a role model to a lot of people. I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading. To anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility." 

While he said he stood by his decision to not receive a vaccine, which he previously stated was partially due to him being allergic to an ingredient in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, he added, "I'm an athlete. I'm not an activist. So I'm going to get back to what I do best, which is playing ball."

That is exactly what he will do Sunday against the Seahawks as the Packers look to bounce back from a poor offensive showing against the Chiefs. While it was Love's first career start, it also wasn't unreasonable to expect more success given the presence of Davante Adams and Aaron Jones on the offense.

Kansas City's defense has also been one of the worst units in the league for extended stretches and allowed 27 or more points in six of its first eight games.

Still, the quarterback the Packers deemed worthy of a first-round pick in 2020 who had more than a full season to sit behind the three-time MVP and learn the craft was unable to establish much of a rhythm during the loss.

It underscored Rodgers' importance, and he will be back for the Packers as they look to pick up a win in the race for a first-round bye in the NFC.

The Green Bay Packers' unwillingness to up their contract offer reportedly played a role in wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. signing with the Los Angeles Rams in free agency this week.

According to Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports, the Packers only offered OBJ the veteran minimum, while the Rams gave him a one-year deal with $4.25 million in guaranteed money, plus many incentives.

Schultz added that while Packers head coach Matt LaFleur wanted Beckham in the belief that his integration into the offense would be "seamless" and "positive," the Green Bay front office "lowballed" the three-time Pro Bowler.

After getting selected 12th overall in the 2014 NFL draft by the New York Giants, Beckham took the NFL by storm. He was the 2014 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons.

He also averaged about 96 receptions for 1,374 yards and 12 touchdowns per year in those three seasons as well.

Injuries limited OBJ to four games in 2017 and 12 games in 2018, however, and he was subsequently traded to the Cleveland Browns.

Beckham did manage to record 1,035 receiving yards in his first season in Cleveland, but he scored only four times and clearly wasn't the same explosive player he once was.

A torn ACL ended Beckham's season after just seven games in 2020, and his 2021 season got off to a late start while he was recovering from the injury.

In six games this season, Beckham has made just 17 grabs for 232 yards and no scores.

After expressing his displeasure with the Browns, Cleveland released him last week. After clearing waivers, he was a hot commodity on the free-agent market.

NFL Network's Kim Jones reported Thursday that Beckham told her he was deciding between the Rams and Packers before he ultimately made the official decision to sign L.A.

While the Rams are Super Bowl contenders, it came as something of a surprise when OBJ signed with them since Los Angeles already has Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and the emerging Van Jefferson at wideout.

Beckham likely would have been the clear No. 2 receiver in Green Bay behind Davante Adams and ahead of the likes of Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Randall Cobb and Amari Rodgers.

Signing with the Packers likely would have guaranteed Beckham more looks in the passing game and given him a better chance to land a strong contract during the offseason.

Instead, Beckham will look to fit into a stacked Rams offense, while the Packers are still without an unquestioned No. 2 option in the passing game behind Adams.

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook maintained his innocence during a Wednesday press conference amid a lawsuit filed by an ex-girlfriend that says he abused her during an argument.

"I just want everybody to know I'm the victim in this situation and the truth and the details about the situation will come out at a further time," Cook told reporters.

A civil lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges Cook physically assaulted the woman, who identified herself as US Army Sgt. Gracelyn Trimble, at the running back's home in November 2020. Trimble alleges she attempted to break up with Cook and went to his home to gather her belongings when he "grabbed her arm, and slung her whole body over the couch, slamming her face into the coffee table and causing her lower forehead and the bridge of her nose to bust open," per Rochelle Olson and Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune.

The suit alleges Cook later beat Trimble with a broomstick and threatened her. 

Cook's lawyer released a statement alleging that Trimble's account of the altercation is a fabrication. David Valentini says Trimble broke into Cook's home and assaulted him, along with two people who were at the home at the time, and has since been attempting to extort him, per Olson and Goessling.

"While Mr. Cook and Sgt. Trimble had a short term relationship over several months, she became emotionally abusive, physically aggressive and confrontational, and repeatedly attempted to provoke Mr. Cook," Valentini said.

Cook and Trimble continued to see one another until May of this year. Neither party contacted the police, per Cronin. 

"I try to walk that straight line, but bumps and bruises come through life and it's how you handle it," Cook told reporters. "I've been through a lot of tough things in my life, and I've got my head up high knowing that the truth will come out. I hate being a distraction to the team, but I know those guys got my back 1,000 percent. Just going to take this thing day by day, and I know my team's here for me and I'm there for them day by day."

The NFL is conducting its own investigation under the league's personal conduct policy. Cook will be allowed to continue playing and will not be placed on the Commissioner's Exempt list because no criminal charges were filed.