I've noticed a lot of chatter among Green Bay Packers fans that is along the lines of "I hope Nick Collins comes back" or "We need Collins back" or less frequently, but occasionally, "When Collins comes back". I'm going to suggest that everyone prepares for some bad news. Obviously, his evaluation could go very well, but don't get your hopes up.

ESPN Milwaukee's Jason Wilde caught up with Mike McCarthy today and tweeted an interesting, and possibly very important quote.

#Packers coach Mike McCarthy on @nickthepick36's neck exam later this week: "If Nick was my son, I would not let him play."

— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) March 25, 2012

Remember: Serious neck injuries are a really big deal. Nick Collins is pretty lucky that he has almost all of the capabilities that he had before his injury. But even if he's 95 percent healed and there's only a small chance that he's at a higher risk for serious neck/spine problems than the average NFL player, he really shouldn't play football again.

Ted Thompson has probably been planning all offseason as if he will not have Nick Collins next year. Collins' health is more important than a football team. If he comes back, I'm confident that it's because doctors told him he is not at a higher risk for neck injury than everyone else, but I'm not optimistic that he will return.