The Vikings may not be the only team in the NFC North counting on a tailback who’s recovering from a torn ACL.
In Green Bay, 2011 third-rounder Alex Green likely will enter the season at No. 2 on the depth chart, even though he suffered the ultimate ligament tear in November. With Ryan Grant gone and no rookies arriving via the draft, Green should be getting a meaningful chance to contribute.
“Not drafting a running back showed they have some faith in me,” Green said, via Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “We’ll see how things turn out when training camp comes around.”
When training camp comes around, the Packers could, in theory, have another veteran running back, especially if Green starts things off on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
“I’m not sure,” Green said regarding whether he’ll be ready for camp. “That’s something we’ll determine as we get closer to the regular season. This is going to be an important month to really progress a lot and have no setbacks.”
The Packers currently have four other tailbacks: starter James Starks, 2011 undrafted free agent Brandon Saine, and 2012 undrafted rookies Du’ane Bennett and Marc Tyler. Fullback John Kuhn also handles the tailback duties from time to time, in one-back sets.
Plenty of veterans are available (like Cedric Benson), if that’s what the Packers choose to do. If nothing else, an extra set of legs will help the Packers get through the reps of camp and the preseason while Green gets himself back to 100 percent.