As the Packers took the field for their fourth practice of their 2014 training camp on Wednesday morning, fans were relieved to see two key players back after each sat out through some or all of the first few days. Today's practice also featured punt returns, where one young receiver struggled mightily.
The other big storyline was that Morgan Burnett was pulled from practice midway through today, and appeared to be held out for injury reasons throughout the rest of the session. We should know more about his issues after Mike McCarthy speaks today.
- Jamari Lattimore returned to practice today, and was in full pads (PD). Mike Neal was also back participating in practice (TS). The four players not participating at all were WR Jeff Janis (Non-Football Illness), OLB Nick Perry (PUP), DE Jerel Worthy (Non-Football Injury) and DT Letroy Guion (Non-Football Injury) (WH).
- Sean Richardson was taking second-team reps at strong safety ahead of Chris Banjo for the first time (TD). Perhaps his interception on Monday made an impression.
- Don Barclay continued to fill in for T.J. Lang at right guard in team drills (WH), as Lang works through his shoulder issue. Brandon Bostick lined up with the starting offense as a single tight end in the start of team drills (JW).
- B.J. Raji had another good day in one-on-one drills, beating both centers JC Tretter and Corey Linsley in one-on-ones (RD).
- Colt Lyerla had another drop today, this one on a high pass during one-on-one receiver/coverage drills (RD). Jared Abbrederis looked good in those drills, though, beating Jarrett Bush (TD).
- In a red zone drill, both Micah Hyde and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix were working together at the two safety positions (WH). However, Burnett was sitting out drills later on as well, and it appears that he was pulled from practice for health reasons (TD). In that drill, Mike Daniels was spotted swearing at his fellow defenders after Eddie Lacy scored on a 12-yard touchdown (TD, RD). Also in the red zone, Aaron Rodgers and Jarrett Boykin continued to work on their developing chemistry, connecting for a score (TD).
- Ha Ha Clinton-Dix had a chance at an interception today - a ball bounced off Randall Cobb's hands, but the rookie safety couldn't bring it in (RD).
- In another red zone drill, the Packers went with five wideouts: the usual suspects (Nelson, Cobb, Boykin), plus Davante Adams and Chris Harper (BC). Later in the drill, Rodgers fired a ball to Jordy Nelson for a score in a tight window (TS).
- Later on, Boykin ripped a Scott Tolzien pass away from Jarrett Bush, who looked like he was coming down with an interception in the end zone. Boykin ended up with the ball (although he was out of bounds) (PI).
- Randall Cobb took the first punt returns of the day, with Myles White up next (RD). White struggled, dropping three punts (WH).
- Eddie Lacy was featured prominently in the two-minute drill, with a few early carries and a reception from Rodgers (TS). Rodgers eventually hit Bostick for a score on 4th down from the goal line (WH).
Thanks as always to the beat writers covering practice live from camp:
TS: Tom Silverstein, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
TD: Tyler Dunne, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
RD: Rob Demovsky, ESPN
JW: Jason Wilde, ESPN Wisconsin
WH: Wes Hodkiewicz, Green Bay Press-Gazette
PD: Pete Dougherty, Green Bay Press-Gazette
PI: Paul Imig, FOX Sports Wisconsin
BC: Brian Carriveau, Cheesehead TV