GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Davon House has enough reasons to play in the Packers’ final two games of the season, even though his team already is out of playoff contention and he's nursing a couple of injuries.
“Last year during this time, I was wishing to be back here,” said House, who played the past two seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars, before he re-signed with the Packers this offseason. “Now that I’m here in this situation, I’m not going to leave anything on the table, so whatever happens, happens.”
House, who spent the first four years of his NFL career in Green Bay, missed last Sunday’s game at the Carolina Panthers -- a loss that, combined with the Atlanta Falcons' win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night, knocked the Packers out of playoff contention.
A week earlier, House was doubtful with a shoulder injury but somehow played against the Cleveland Browns until he got kneed in the back by receiver Josh Gordon. The diagnosis was a transverse process fracture, essentially a broken back.
Yet here is House, a day before Saturday’s Week 16 home game against the Minnesota Vikings, acting like he’s going to play. The Packers listed him as questionable on Thursday.
“I probably shouldn’t have played against the Browns, but I said, man, if I’m going to get hurt, then it’s not meant to be,” House said. “And I ended up getting hurt that game.”
There are financial implications at work too, as House has incentives tied to playing time. His one-year, $2.8 million contract calls for him to receive an additional $750,000 based on playing time. It breaks down like this: He would receive $250,000 if he plays between 50 and 60 percent of the defensive snaps this season, $500,000 if he plays 60 to 70 percent of the snaps or the full $750,000 if he plays at least 70 percent of the snaps.
Although House has missed four games, he has played 566 of a possible 899 defensive snaps. That’s 63 percent. As a team, the Packers’ defense has been on the field for an average of 64 snaps per game. If that held true over the final two games and House did not play, his playing time percentage would fall to 55 percent and therefore he would collect only $250,000 of his incentive money.
If he played every snap the rest of the way, however, there probably wouldn’t be enough plays to get him over the 70 percent mark. If the average snap count remained the same over the final two games, House could only get to 67.8 percent.
House was fully aware of his playing-time incentives and, to his credit, didn’t deny that it was a factor down the stretch. But he said it was a small factor. The 28-year-old hopes to be back in Green Bay next year and wants to show why the Packers should re-sign him.
“It’s for sure more about just playing,” House said. “I came here on a one-year deal, and the more games I played, the better. But I want to show Green Bay, I want to play, I want to be here. On top of that, I’ve already missed four games. I don’t want to miss any more games. Of course, the bonus factors into it too, but not as much as me wanting to come back.”
The Packers brought in House to be the veteran among a young group that includes top draft pick Kevin King and third-year pro Damarious Randall. King will finish the season on injured reserve, and Randall struggled early -- even getting benched -- before he turned his season around. The Packers' pass defense has improved only slightly, from 31st last season to 24th this year, with two games to play.
House has just one interception and seven pass breakups, but he missed three games in a four-week stretch because of a quad injury and also battled the shoulder injury.
“You know, a lot of these guys, they do it because they’re very prideful,” Packers cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt said. “And that’s what House is. And you might all know House away from just football; he’s just a good person and he doesn’t want to let anybody in that locker room down. He’s a great teammate, and he’s trying as hard as he can to come out and play this week. That’s a medical decision. If they allow him to play, I’m going to put him out there.”