Packers Would Like to Bring Back Franklin in a Non-Playing Role

The Packers are interested in bringing back former RB Johnathan Franklin in a non-playing role, ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reports. 

According to Demovsky, Green Bay Coach Mike McCarthy's currently looking to get Franklin a job somewhere in the organization, although what that job could turn out to be is obviously yet to be known.

Franklin, as you probably already know, was cut from the team earlier this offseason after him continuing to compete was deemed unsafe, probably ending his career.

Still, that doesn't mean he can't keep being involved in the sport, something both he and his ex-teammates would likely enjoy.

Rival Executive Believes Packers' Backfield is "The Best It's Ever Looked"

After Johnathan Franklin's career ended a few weeks ago, some Packers fans became convinced his loss would seriously hurt their backfield.

Franklin, a 2013 draft pick who rarely played last year, provided them depth if Eddie Lacy was to get hurt, an underrated advantage.

Still, according to an executive in personnel on another team, the Pack's running game is "the best it's ever looked" going into 2014, something recently told to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Earlier this offseason, the Packers re-signed FB John Kuhn, essentially creating a potentially-great quad, with Lacy, James Starks, and Dajuan Harris also carrying a lot of positives.

Jolly Gets Medically Cleared; Wants to Return to Green Bay

Packers Defensive End Johnny Jolly has been medically cleared after undergoing spinal surgury, the Green Bay Press-Gazette's Weston Hodkiewicz reports. 

Jolly, who spent the last month of 2013 on injured reserve, has stated through his agent that he wants to return to the team, a move that'd bring some much needed experience to the Pack's line.

Currently, the oldest lineman they have is just 28, possibly giving the 31-year-old Jolly a chance at another comeback. 

Due to the recent release of Jonathan Franklin, the Packers have an open roster spot, something that could seriously impact how they look in 2014.

Packers Using GPS Technology to Reduce Training Camp Injuries

In a new interesting attempt to reduce training camp injuries, the Packers have apparently begun using GPS technology on certain players, Pro Football Talk's Darin Gantt reports.

In recent years, the Pack have been one of the most beat up teams in the NFL, making this form of monitoring a strange but justifiable method. 

According to Head Coach Mike McCarthy, the technology will help schedule practices and train players better, what he considers the most important part of his job.

So far this summer, only one major injury (Johnathan Franklin) has hit the Packers, a major improvement over the last few seasons.

Packers Minicamp Wrap-Up: Franklin Remains The Big Story

The Packers ended their 2014 minicamp on Thursday by giving their veterans the day off. They now have just over a month off before they return for training camp on July 25.

I've been reading Aron Yohannes at Acme Packing Company, who's been doing a great job of following the practices live and accumulating tweets from the various beat reporters.

The overall theme I've read was that their receivers (wideouts and tight ends) all are practicing well. None of it matters until they start playing games, but they now have a deep group to choose from. Last season, the offense was lacking an effective pass receiving tight end after Jermichael Finley's injury, and they need either Richard Rodgers or Colt Lyerla to step up. Lyerla's a major character risk, but he's doing well so far. Maybe the move away from Oregon (where he's seemed to have lived for most of his life) to Green Bay, WI where he can work with a small group of professionals is exactly what he needs.

FYI- Lyerla's a fascinating player. He's like a TE version of Eddie Lacy; an absolute load to bring down in the open field. Sometimes he lined up in the backfield and took the hand-off (he was a star running back in high school). Richard Rodgers is more like Finley, a big receiving threat who can exploit mismatches against smaller DBs, while Lyerla could bring another dimension to the offense.

However, the news of Johnathan Franklin's retirement due to a neck injury was the major story. As far as the roster's concerned, it presents an opportunity for DuJuan Harris to fill a role on offense and special teams next season, but the big takeaway for me is how quickly a NFL career can be over. The best of luck to him in his future plans.

Lacy Saddened By Loss Of Franklin

After hearing the news that Johnathan Franklin was leaving the team today, Packers RB Eddie Lacy was pretty upset.

"We were definitely sad," Lacy told PackersNews.com. "He shot everybody in the running back group a text and it just makes you cherish the moments that you get to play. We came in together, we got to know each other real good and we spent a lot of time together. He was just starting, and just like that, as fast as you get it, it can be taken away."

In last year's draft, Lacy and Franklin were taken out of Alabama and UCLA, with the two of them each showing potential during the regular season.

Packers RB Franklin Might Have a Career-Threatening Neck Injury

Second year Packers Running Back Johnathan Franklin might have a career-threatening neck injury, ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reports.

Franklin, who was placed on Injured Reserve last September after suffering a concussion, hasn't practiced yet this offseason, as the team is apparently putting him through medical tests to see if him continuing to play football is safe.

In 2013, the ex-UCLA star recorded just 107 rushing yards, with all but four of them coming in Week 3's loss to the Bengals.

In that contest, Franklin also got a season-high 13 carries, as opposed to just six the rest of the year.

Preseason Recap: Packers Shutout By Cardinals, 17-0

The Green Bay Packers hadn't been shut out in a preseason game since the dark ages (a.k.a. when Forrest Gregg was the head coach in the 1980s) but that really wasn't a big surprise after they needed to add QB Vince Young to the backup quarterback battle. This game was really a sign that they'd be in trouble if anything happened to QB Aaron Rodgers. The good news is that on Rodgers' only series, he drove them 86 yards before they got stuffed at the one-yard line on 4th down.

The only injury was rookie 1st round DE Datone Jones, but it wasn't clear if his ankle injury was serious.

For Arizona, DB Tyrann Mathieu was deemed impressive but he was the highlight maker from a game without many of them. His sack of QB Graham Harrell was Harrell's fault, he completely ignored a blitzing DB which earned Harrell an exasperated stare from Mike McCarthy. Mathieu's other big play was a 24 yard punt return.

So without focusing on what the team did, here's how some individual players performed.

LT David Bakhtiari. Breathe a sigh of relief: he was solid. He looked a little off-balance on the first drive, his momentum carried him too far forward on one early run play, but he looked nearly perfect thereafter. He certainly looked better than Marshall Newhouse, who was beaten on a speed rush by DE John Abraham which led to a sack-fumble of Harrell.

WR Tyrone Walker. After the first drive, when Rodgers and WR James Jones took a seat, the undrafted rookie out of Illinois State was basically their entire offense. The Packers' backups only generated 137 yards of offense and 41 yards was from Walker. He's looked great in practice, in last weekend's scrimmage, and he did it again in his first game.

The defensive backs. Yes, CB Davon House was burnt early and often, but the guys behind him on the depth chart were awful too. Rookie 5th round CB Micah Hyde gave up a touchdown. The worst play was made by CB Brandon Smith, who was completely fooled on a comeback route and ended up running out of bounds. The good news is that none of these guys are expected to start, and since it was only one game, hopefully they bounce back next week.

The running backs. None of them made plays, but rookie RB Johnathan Franklin looked the best to me (Eddie Lacy was held out due to a hamstring injury). I need to see the rest of the preseason games before deciding.

QB Graham Harrell. It would have been a bad game even if he hadn't fumbled (see above) and telegraphed an easy interception (though WR Jeremy Ross seemed lost on the route). The only good news for him is that B.J. Coleman and Vince Young looked worse, though Young only knew about six plays. This isn't something GM Ted Thompson can fix this year, so the coaches will have to make due with the backup quarterbacks they've got.

DE Johnny Jolly. The defense didn't provide much of a pass rush, but Jolly got loose in the backfield on a couple plays. He looked almost as good as ever, despite the nearly four year absence from football. He's still got to prove himself over the remaining preseason games, however, after the first game, he looks like he should be part of the defensive line rotation.

Family Night Scrimmage: Eddie Lacy Shines

It seems like every other year these Family Night events are cancelled due to thunderstorms, but the Green Bay Packers were able to scrimmage Saturday night in front of just over 63,000 fans. There were a couple of interesting takeaways:

At running back, James Starks started, Eddie Lacy replaced him on the first drive, Johnathan Franklin went third, and Alex Green was fourth. The only back who's really suffered this week is DuJuan Harris, who's been held out after having a cyst removed back in June. The snap count between the top four backs was almost identical, however Lacy stood out with 65 yards on eight carries behind the first team offensive line. Technically, Green came into camp at the top of the depth chart, but (surprisingly) Starks is healthy, he certainly knows the offense, and that might have given him the early advantage, though Green ran the ball well during scrimmage too. The position looks like a toss up.

At quarterback, Graham Harrell easily outplayed B.J. Coleman. For whatever progress Coleman has made in his second NFL season, he keeps turning the ball over in camp, though he didn't get much help from Jeremy Ross who dropped one pass before he slipped on another route which led to a pick-six INT. The talk earlier this week that Coleman might move ahead of Harrell seems well premature.

At right tackle, Marshall Newhouse is the starter but he was quickly replaced by rookie David Bakhtiari, so it looks like they are closely competing for the job. I really like Bakhtiari's potential, so I don't see this as a bad thing. Don Barclay started at right tackle at the end of last season, but he was awful in pass protection and is being moved all over this line so far in camp, apparently to see where he might fit. Former first round pick Derek Sherrod hasn't practiced at all, as far as I've read. The competition might already be down to Newhouse and Bakhtiari, though the winner shouldn't be obvious until the second or third preseason game.

I wrote about Tyrone Walker last week, he's still a long-shot, but he stood out during the scrimmage with a couple nice receptions.

Also, Mason Crosby's kicking woes continued and the boo-birds let him have it. I'm not sure how much more time the team will be willing to give him; they've already given him more than many franchises would have.

Position Review: Running Backs

This should be one of the most talked about positions since the Green Bay Packers completely shook up the roster. Gone are veteran starters Ryan Grant and Cedric Benson while three rookies have been added.

Position Review: Offensive Line Guards and Tackles
Position Review: Offensive Line-Center
Position Review: Wide Receivers
Position Review: Quarterback

It's not clear who will be the starter. The rookies might be ready to grab the ball and run, but they're probably not up to speed with the overall playbook and pass blocking, which might give the returning veterans an advantage for the first few weeks of the season. It would be a surprise if the Packers kept more than three running backs, so a couple of once promising players might not be with the team much longer.

DuJuan Harris. He might seem like the player with the least upside, but he finished 2012 as the starter and every player and coach seems to rave about him. He was productive last season in six games, rushing for 4.6 ypc during the regular season and four touchdowns (two in the playoffs). He might be the best bet to start the season.

Eddie Lacy. He's the player I want to see on the field, but he comes with legitimate injury risks and not a lot of college experience. He might need some time to get ready (and healthy) for the NFL.

Johnathan Franklin. He was talked about as a potential 2nd round pick, so I was surprised he was still available later (and apparently the Packers were too because they traded up in the 4th round to select him). He's lighter (205 lbs.) than Lacy and might be more of a complementary back but his speed score was solid and it could be a sign that he should hold up just fine as the primary rusher.

Alex Green. Maybe he should be higher on the list now that he's another year removed from his torn ACL, but he didn't impress last season and I don't see how he fits with the Packers anymore. Supposedly, he's at the top of the depth chart, but that June ranking means nothing if he's only averaging a couple yards per carry during the preseason. I thought he could be a trade candidate, but the team seems to be giving him the chance to start, so he'll stay if he runs well. If he flops during the preseason, I doubt the Packers will make room for him or be able to find anything in trade.

James Starks. He came into the NFL after a lost college season due to injury, and he hasn't been able to stay healthy as a pro either. Also, he didn't impress last season when healthy (3.6 ypc, one carry of greater than 20 yards). I doubt he has any trade value, but a strong preseason might encourage another team to take a chance on him as a free agent.

Angelo Pease. Despite playing on Kansas State's high powered offense, he wasn't much of a factor in college (333 rushing yards in 2012). McCarthy likes what he's seen, but Pease's 4.59 40 time is a little slow for a back his size (5-10, 211 lbs.). He might have a better chance of staying due to his eligibility for the practice squad, but the Packers might not need him if they have three other backs on the 53-man roster.

Football Outsiders: Lacy and Franklin Make The Running Game Better

The question is whether the addition of rookie RBs Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin make the Packers' running game better? The answer is "duh" but Rivers McCown at ESPN.com (Insider required) actually goes through the stats and explains why it will improve.

First, he points out that the Packers' running game wasn't all that bad last season (FO ranked them at No. 13 overall). It's not that RB Alex Green was all that good (he wasn't) but QB Aaron Rodgers is a good rushing quarterback and no defense was lining up eight players in the box to stop the run.

The big problem he notes is that their running backs were lousy at breaking tackles. This has been obvious for a while; the Packers haven't had one capable of making a move in the open field since RB Ryan Grant in 2007.

And both Lacy and Franklin are very good at breaking tackles. Rivers McCown pointed out this breakdown from The Sideline View that ranked Frankin and Lacy as the second and third best backs in college last year for yards after contact. The best back was Giovani Bernard, who was a surprise as the first running back taken in the draft, but maybe it's not such a surprise considering how good he was at fighting for extra yards.

So while the Packers haven't had a back capable of making a defender miss in the open field or powering forward for tough yards in recent years, they now might have two of them.

2013 NFL Draft: Rounds 4-7 Packer Selections on Offense

After trading down in the 2nd round, and still getting RB Eddie Lacy, and trading out of the 3rd round all together, the Green Bay Packers had 10 selection in the final four rounds on Saturday. They did surrender a couple picks to trade up in the 4th round which gave them one more polished prospect to go along with the projects they acquired in the later rounds.

What I love every year about GM Ted Thompson's selections is that he picks a lot of players at different positions, so he keeps his depth deep at every position. The players drafted late aren't likely to become stars, but there should be some future starters and key backups here. With so many picks, I'm splitting my analysis into two posts, the first one is on the offense.

4th round, Colorado LT David Bakhtiari. There's been a lot written recently about how LT Marshall Newhouse shouldn't be viewed as the starter of the future. While he did improve in 2012, he also showed his size limitations (he's short for a LT) and doesn't have quite enough strength and/or size. The team probably views Sherrod and Bulaga as the future at tackle, but they do need to improve their depth so they're not forced to rely on the poor tandem of Newhouse and RT Don Barclay as Plan B. There's a lot to like about Bakhtiari, he was a starter after his redshirt freshman season and he ended up with 33 career starts before leaving school early. He's got the big frame of a left tackle and he could still put some more bulk on it. He was told by the NFL advisory board that he was a likely 2nd or 3rd round selection, but I think he fell to the 4th round because not a lot of people saw Colorado's awful team last season. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the mix at left tackle soon but he could play on the right side too.

4th round, Cornell OT J.C. Tretter. I'd been hoping the Packers would select one of the top centers available, but instead they'll convert an Ivy League tackle. It hasn't been announced that Tretter will switch to center, but it seems pretty obvious. The knock on him is that he doesn't have the size or length to play at tackle and he was going to have to move inside in the NFL. He's a former tight end who's quick and flexible and he has better size (6-4 height, 33 3/8" arm length) than many college centers.

4th round, UCLA RB Johnathan Franklin. They traded up to grab the player that was viewed as the No. 2 RB pre-draft. Obviously NFL teams thought otherwise, but the Packers made the move up because they did see his value. He's got the speed and quickness while Lacy has the size and strength, but the Packers haven't used a rotation at back in recent years. Maybe they would have if injuries and ineffectiveness hadn't gotten in the way. Franklin had some big question marks (6 fumbles in 2011) that he seemed to have overcome in 2012, but he doesn't look like an every down back due to his smaller size which is maybe why he fell in the draft. The Packers ended the 2012 season with former practice squad RB DeJuan Harris as arguably their best back, so more talent in the backfield can't hurt.

7th round wide receivers, Grand Valley St.'s Charles Johnson and Maryland's Kevin Dorsey. While the Packers haven't shied away from undrafted wide receivers, they usually draft wide receivers in the early rounds, so Johnson and Dorsey are some new ground for Ted Thompson. The two receivers were almost drafted back-to-back which is appropriate because they look very similar (6-2 height with good hands). The Packers lost two receivers this offseason so depth at the position was necessary, but Johnson and Dorsey were selected based on potential, not college performance.

It's an unknown whether these's players will succeed in the NFL, but the Packers addressed the positions where they lost depth (wide receiver) and where they needed better depth (offensive line, running back). I see the potential in all three players they selected in the 4th round, and they all could become involved in the offense as soon as this season.