Safety Josh Jones (ankle) also might be back this week, while running back Aaron Jones (suspension) will be activated to the 53-man roster.

The topic of roughing-the-passer rules remains a hot one, and in revisiting the controversial Clay Matthews penalty against the Vikings, McCarthy sounded uncomfortable with the league's assertion that seeing Matthews apparently lifting the leg of Minnesota QB Kirk Cousins was enough to justify a penalty.

"There needs to be some clarity on it," he said. "To say this is a black-and-white, right and wrong, I don't agree with that. But it's irrelevant. I have to coach the team and prepare for a game."

McCarthy noted all the attention to the issue is affecting pass rushers, as evidenced by the Mike Daniels play against Minnesota, where he let up and Cousins escaped a sack because a pump fake convinced Daniels the ball had been thrown.

Those are the trouble spots, but McCarthy emphasized he's confident in the way he and his coaching staff train the team in the fundamentals, and it remains "a constant, everyday deal."

"We haven't changed anything with the way we're coaching our players," he said. "We're not trying to break any rules, not trying to skirt (or) be on the edge of the rules.