It's Official; Abbrederis is Out For the Season

Going into today, the Packers knew that the tests on WR Jared Abbrederis' knee would likely turn out badly.

Yesterday, the team found that the Abbrederis had torn his ACL, something they wanted to confirm this afternoon just in case their original discovery wasn't correct.

Still, unsurprisingly that didn't prove to be the case, with ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reporting that the worst case scenario has turned out to be true, an unfortunate happening that will keep Abbrederis out for his rookie season (while also disappointing the many Wisconsin fans who wanted to see him play in Green and Gold).

Abbrederis Could Have Torn ACL

Packers Wide Receiver Jared Abbrederis could have a torn ACL, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Bob McGinn reports. 

Apparently, Abbrederis suffered a severe knee injury yesterday, something that was thought this morning to be the aforementioned wound.

Nonetheless, the Pack aren't taking any chances with that finding, planning to have the youngster undergo more tests for a confirmation.

Either way, this news has got to be dissapointing for Green Bay and their newest prospect, as the Badger State native who played his college ball at the University of Wisconsin from 2010-2013 is likely hurt badly even if his ACL turns out okay.

Free Agent Safety Jim Leonhard Has "Had Conversations" With The Packers

Free Agent Safety Jim Leonhard has "had conversations" with the Packers as well as other teams, NFL.com's Marc Sessler reports. 

Leonhard, a 10 year NFL veteran, played for the Bills in 2013, recording a career-high four interceptions as Buffalo went 4-12.

Earlier this offseason, interestingly, the 31 year-old actually said that he has plans to retire after the upcoming fall, something that could end up luring him to Green Bay, as they obviously give him the best chance of winning a Super Bowl.

Leonhard, 31, has been in the league since 2005, recording 385 tackles from then until now.

Rookie DT Khyri Thornton was a Packers Fan Growing Up

Since the draft happened, so much has been made this offseason about Wisconsin Wide Receiver Jared Abbrederis.

Abbrederis, as we all know by now, grew up rooting for the Packers in the Badger State, making him the guy we all want to succeed.

However, Abbredris actually isn't the only new guy who grew up watching Green Bay, as it was recently revealed to Packers.com Staff Writer Mike Spofford that Southern Miss Defensive Tackle Khyri Thornton was also a Cheesehead fan during his youth.

“It’s a blessing right now. I couldn’t have asked to come to a better team, the Green Bay Packers,” Thornton told Spofford at the team's recent rookie orientation. “Who wouldn’t want to come to the Packers? This was my favorite team growing up, my best friend’s favorite team. I’m enjoying it right now.”

Apparently, Thornton's Uncle Tyrone Bolware played for the Golden Eagles from 1994-1997, just four years after Brett Favre's departure.

So, the youngster watched Favre and the Pack from his Florida home instead of any of the Sunshine State teams, although he did come close to playing college ball at Florida State before failing to meet NCAA requirements, making him go to Southern Miss.

Abbrederis doesn't consider playing for Packers a distraction

For a fifth-round pick on an NFL powerhouse like the Packers, former Wisconsin Wide Receiver Jared Abbrederis is pretty relaxed. 

The ex-Badger star, who suffered a career-threatening broken femur when he was a sophomore in High School, grew up outside of the small Wisconsin town of Wautoma, making him a big fan of the Pack.

With that, as well as the fact that he's the first UW player drafted by Green Bay since 2001, you'd think the youngster would be nervous going into the upcoming season, although that apparently isn't the case. 

"It's not a distraction to me," Abbrederis told ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. "I'm more about doing my thing and not really worrying about what people think or anything like that so I don't think it really bothers me."

While it probably shouldn't, as the Packers biggest stars right now come from far away places like California, Alabama, and Kansas, I'm surprised that this guy is so calm going into his rookie season.

Expectations for him shouldn't be so high, since he is just the 176th overall pick, but still, we can't downplay how important a Badger finally being on the roster is to the fans of the state, especially since it's been so long since it last happened.