Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Jordy Nelson goes deep -- once -- in his first full practice since ACL tear

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Robertson Daniel had never before covered Jordy Nelson; the cornerback joined the Green Bay Packers last season on the practice squad three weeks after Nelson was lost for the season.

So Daniel, the only cornerback to cover Nelson on a deep route Monday, might not be the best judge when it comes to evaluating how Nelson looked on his first day of team (11-on-11) work since tearing the ACL in his right knee more than a year ago.

But to Daniel, who spent most of last season the practice squad, he looked good.

“It was a good route,” Daniel said after practice. “It seemed like he was moving pretty good. It was also a pretty good ball. Him and Aaron [Rodgers] have that connection.”

Nelson made one other noticeable play -- a sliding catch during an 11-on-9 period -- during Monday’s hour-and-45-minute practice.

The deep ball over Daniel was the one that stood out. Nelson appeared to make a one-handed catch against solid coverage along the left sideline on a well-placed ball from Rodgers.

When asked how Nelson looked, fellow receiver Randall Cobb said: “He looks just like Jordy.”

“He caught a deep ball,” Cobb said. “That’s what he does. It was great to see him out there.”

Without Nelson last season, Rodgers finished with the lowest yards-per-attempt average (6.7) since he became a starter. In 2014, seven of Nelson’s 13 touchdowns were on throws of 20 or more yards down the field, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Rodgers had only five such touchdowns all of last season.

Nelson returned to practice last week but was limited to certain individual drills. He said Sunday that he does not expect to play in the preseason finale at Kansas City on Thursday, meaning he will go into the season without any game reps since he tore his ACL in Aug. 23 of last year.

^ Back to Top ^