The Packers' charity softball game Satuday turned into a scary situation when a line drive back up the middle hit linebacker Clay Matthews squarely in the face. Matthews, however, appears to have avoided a serious injury.
Matthews, who was pitching, dropped to the ground after getting hit by the ball. Covering his face with his glove, Matthews got up off the ground immediately and walked off the field.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Matthews went to the emergency room for a full checkup, but the good news is that the injury is only believed to a broken nose. Or in the words of Matthews' teammate Davante Adams, he suffered "a little boo boo on his nose."
That's both an unfortunate break for the Packers (what are the odds someone gets hurt at a charity softball game?) and a fortunate outcome (it looked like the injury could've been significantly worse than a broken nose).
Matthews, 32, is entering his 10th year with the Packers. During his career, he's racked up 80 sacks and 337 solo tackles. He might not be the dominant force he was once earlier in his career -- he's coming off a 7.5-sack season -- but he's still an important cog in the Packers' defense, which is finally undergoing a transition after a rare change in defensive coordinators. 2018 is the final year of Matthews' contract, so it's a big season for him.
Hopefully, the injury is nothing more than a broken nose and it doesn't impact his availability for the rest of the offseason. In the meantime, since it is charity softball season, teams and players might want to start giving pitchers some protective netting on the mound. If the NFL can make an effort to protect defenseless players, charity softball games can too.
Most importantly, Matthews' team appeared to overcome the injury to their captain. They beat Adams' team with a walk-off home-run.
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