Green Bay Packers: What We've Learned Through Week 3 of Training Camp

The Green Bay Packers opened their third week of training camp with back-to-back practices on Monday and Tuesday. The team didn't have a public practice Wednesday and will be off on Friday after playing its first preseason game of the season against the New England Patriots on Thursday, Aug. 13. 

So in reality, when we break down what we've learned from training camp this week, we're speaking about two practices: Aug. 10 and Aug. 11. It may not seem like much to go on, but a lot happened this week on Ray Nitschke Field. 

Some players stood out with impressive performances, while others landed on the injury list at the most inopportune time. Let's break down what we can take away from this week's practices. 

OLB Mike Neal Is Feeling Determined

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Mike Neal didn't participate in a training camp practice until Monday, when he was activated off the PUP list, as ESPN Wisconsin's Jason Wilde reported. 

But he'd also like to remind everyone that he has played 16 games in each of his last two seasons. 

"How many times do we write the story about Mike Neal every offseason?" Neal said Monday, per Wilde. "I made it the last two years 16 games, and I think that I play well. So I don’t think it’ll be any different this year."

Neal has spent the offseason recovering from a hernia surgery, but remains committed to getting on the field this preseason. One needs only remember the 2013 offseason, in which Neal moved from the defensive line to outside linebacker and lost more than 40 pounds, to know how Neal's determination has served him in the past. 

These next four weeks shouldn't be any different. Neal is heading into an extremely important year, the last of his two-year contract signed in 2013, per Spotrac.com, and will become a free agent in March.

With Clay Matthews set to play many snaps inside in 2015, with the Packers declining to pick up outside linebacker Nick Perry's fifth-year option and with Julius Peppers' age (35) and cap hit in 2014 (35 and $12 million, per Spotrac), Neal could play an important role as a pass-rusher for years to come for the Packers if he can get back to form quickly. 

Though he's been taking it slow in practice this week, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, there's no doubt going off his comments that Neal is determined to get back to full speed as quickly as possible. 

QB Brett Hundley Is Starting to Flash

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Rookie quarterback Brett Hundley had a rough start to his first NFL offseason.

Through OTAs and the Packers' minicamp and early into training camp, journeyman quarterback Matt Blanchard was taking No. 3 reps behind Aaron Rodgers and Scott Tolzien, as ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky pointed out, leaving Hundley as the fourth-stringer. 

However, in the Packers' third week of training camp, Hundley is starting to quiet the worries surrounding his ability. His efforts in practice on Monday earned him a "play of the day" distinction from ESPN Wisconsin's Jason Wilde:

"

Practice ended with rookie quarterback Brett Hundley leading his group to a touchdown in the 2-minute drill, but it wasn’t easy. Hundley got the offense in position with a strike down the seam to rookie tight end Kennard Backman, who’d had some drops during the first part of camp but had no trouble reeling it in. But it wasn’t until fourth down that Hundley got his group into the end zone, with a pinpoint throw over the middle.

"

It's also worth noting that Monday was, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "probably the first time all summer" that Hundley was No. 3 in the quarterback rotation ahead of Blanchard. 

"I'm not worried about competition and what the competition is," Hundley said Monday, per the Journal Sentinel. "I'm just really trying to focus on becoming the best quarterback I can be."

In some ways, the competition between Hundley and Blanchard seems like a facade. After all, the Packers traded up 19 spots into the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft to select Hundley, and head coach Mike McCarthy excels at developing young quarterbacks. 

Would general manager Ted Thompson's Packers really give a third quarterback spot on the 53-man roster—a spot that hasn't even existed in previous seasons' iterations of the roster—to a 26-year-old veteran? It doesn't seem likely. 

WR Larry Pinkard Is Pushing for a Roster Spot

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At this point in camp, a potential No. 6 wide receiver spot on the Packers' 53-man roster is up for the taking. Undrafted rookie Larry Pinkard isn't taking that opportunity lightly. 

Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, rookie Ty Montgomery and second-year player Jeff Janis are all likely to make the final roster.

Second-year player Jared Abbrederis, who would have gotten a first crack at the open spot over the undrafted rookies on the roster, was still out of practice on Tuesday, as ESPN Wisconsin's Jason Wilde reported, as he goes through concussion protocol. So too were undrafted rookies Javess Blue and Adrian Coxson.  

Also on Tuesday, the team announced it had released undrafted rookie receiver Ricky Collins, further decreasing the bodies competing for that No. 6 spot. 

That's good news for Pinkard. During Tuesday's practice, Pinkard turned heads when he had a leaping one-handed catch to pull in a ball thrown by Brett Hundley, as Wes Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported. 

Brian Carriveau of 247Sports thinks Pinkard is the "best of the six rookie free-agent wide receivers on the Packers roster," and it's hard to disagree. Aaron Rodgers said earlier this offseason this is a "real good group of young receivers," per Wilde, and Pinkard just maybe could be good enough to make a play for the final roster. 

WR Ty Montgomery Is Training Camp Standout

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It's seems like everywhere you turn this offseason, someone affiliated with the Packers is singing rookie receiver Ty Montgomery's praises. 

The rookie has been a star throughout training camp, but if we're focusing on this week specifically, it was his leaping grab during Monday's practice that really impressed. During the play, Montgomery leaped over cornerback Quinten Rollins to catch a Scott Tolzien pass, per ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky.

"So far in camp, Montgomery has caught deep balls using his speed, made defenders miss with his quick-twitch change of direction and now flashed his leaping ability," Demovsky wrote Monday. 

Montgomery will have a big opportunity to earn the same kind of recognition on a national level Thursday night when the Packers face the New England Patriots in their first preseason game.

Sure, starters Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams will play the first series or two, perhaps a full quarter. But when the Packers bring in the second-team offense, Montgomery will get a chance to make an impression. He'll also have the opportunity to get things going on special teams with kickoff returns, per Packers.com's Mike Spofford.  

Perhaps the most important thing any rookie receiver could do in camp is earn the praise of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Rodgers has been impressed by Montgomery. 

"Ty’s a great kid with a bright future for us, a great disposition and attitude about the game,” Rodgers said Tuesday, per Spofford. "He’s hungry to learn and get better, it’s good moments like that where he can hear it from me how we’re expecting that route to be run, just like when he hears it from Jordy or Randall."

Montgomery has already been doing everything right through camp, but on Thursday he'll get the chance to keep it up on a much bigger stage.

LB Nick Perry Is Toeing the Line

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Nick Perry should have received the warning loud and clear this offseason.

When the Packers elected not to exercise the 2012 first-round pick's fifth-year option on his contract, they signified that Perry would have to make a leap in 2015 if he wants to earn a new deal with the team in March. 

Unfortunately for Perry, that starts with getting on the field, something the veteran hasn't been able to do this week. Perry first missed practice on Aug. 6 with a groin injury, as ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reported. He was still out as of Tuesday, putting his status for the preseason game against the New England Patriots on Thursday in jeopardy. 

Since 2012, Perry has started 15 games and played in 32. He has not yet played a full 16-game season, a troubling turn of events for a former first-round selection.

Perry's best season, 2013, saw him post 20 total tackles, four sacks, a pass defensed and three forced fumbles in just 11 games.

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel put it in its Tuesday practice report, "Time is running out on linebacker Nick Perry."

If he can't step into the role the Packers need him to, there are other players who can, including talented second-year playmaker Jayrone Elliott, Andy Mulumba and Adrian Hubbard, all of whom are potentially on the roster bubble and will be thrilled to receive more snaps in practice.