Packers Daily Links: Jennings Still Sidelined by Concussion

It's been 11 days since Greg Jennings suffered a concussion, and he still hasn't returned to practice. That and more in today's Daily Links...

It's been 11 days since Pro Bowl wide receiver Greg Jennings sustained a concussion in the Packers' intra-squad scrimmage back on Aug. 3, and he still hasn't returned to practice. "Jennings’ lengthy absence, along with the fact that left tackle Marshall Newhouse, who also suffered a concussion during Family Night and didn’t return to practice until Monday, underscores how the more stringent post-concussion protocols will likely keep players out for longer periods of time than in the past," writes Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com. "That means having ready-to-play backups is even more important." Even though it would be nice to see Jennings return to practice, the Packers aren't about to take any chances with one of their most valuable players.

More on Greg Jennings comes from the Associated Press.

In the aftermath of T.J. Lang's new contract extension, the starting left guard of the Packers spoke to reporters for the first time on Tuesday since his extension, which prompted several articles on the Packers' new million-dollar man. "Lang's life has changed quite a bit this past year," writes Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "He made drastic lifestyle changes, his father passed away and through it all he emerged as someone general manager Ted Thompson identified as a 'core player.' Challenged by coaches in training camp, Lang responded and is now a much wealthier man." It's hard to argue with the type of money the Packers just gave Lang. For a good player, they didn't break the bank. The new contract seems to reverse the trend of Ted Thompson not paying guards big-time money, but perhaps the Packers haven't had this good of a pair of guards since Mike Whale and Marco Rivera.

More on T.J. Lang comes from ESPNMilwaukee.com, the Associated Press and the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

By paying big money to offensive guards or signing troubled running back Cedric Benson in free agency, people have noticed a change in general manager Ted Thompson, and it doesn't stop there. "Whether it was signing veteran free agents Jeff Saturday, Anthony Hargrove, Daniel Muir and Phillip Merling, using the first six picks of the NFL draft to fill glaring needs on defense and trading up three times in the draft to secure targeted players, Thompson has in the past six months shown he is considerably more flexible than he once was," writes Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal. It certainly has been out of character for Thompson to make these relatively bold moves. Perhaps he sees that the window to success won't be open forever, and he's going to try to win the Super Bowl while he can.

More on Ted Thompson comes from Fox Sports Wisconsin and ESPNMilwaukee.com.

The signing of Cedric Benson continues to be a hot topic in Green Bay, and Bill Huber of Packer Report puts in in perspective. "Benson has a lot to learn and not a lot of time to do it," writes Huber. "By the time he takes his first real practice reps on Sunday, the cutdown to 75 players will be eight days away and the cutdown to the regular-season limit of 53 players will be 12 days away. Benson will have six practices and two preseason games to show that he’s worthy of a roster spot and a role on the offense." Based upon comments from Ted Thompson, it appears Benson is being relied upon to be a factor at running back this season and not necessarily just a try out. The question is, how will Benson's signing affect the other halfbacks on the roster? Can the Packers keep four halfbacks?

More on Cedric Benson comes from the Journal Sentinel, ESPNMilwaukee.com, twice, and PackersNews.com.

Training camp round-ups come from the Journal Sentinel, Press-Gazette and Packer Report.

Head coach Mike McCarthy made clear that he wants to see plenty of Graham Harrell on Thursday. More from JSOnline and the Packers official website.

The quiet training camp of rookie linebacker Terrell Manning is covered by Bob McGinn of the Journal Sentinel.

Safety M.D. Jennings has yet to secure a spot in the starting lineup, says Pete Dougherty of the Press-Gazette.

The idea of "Packer People" is brought up by Packer Plus and Packerpedia.

Cornerback Sam Shields hopes to return to practice next week.

Don't count Erik Walden out of outside linebacker competition, warns Tyler Dunne.

Wide receiver Jordy Nelson talks about the relatively small contract he's outperformed.

Items on the inside linebackers and road construction around Lambeau Field come from Fox 11 in Green Bay.

Videos at JSOnline are about the quarterbacks and various other topics.

Packer Plus has additional articles on former Packer Steve Luke and injuries in Green Bay.

The Packers won't keep six wide receivers says Chad Toporski at AllGreenBayPackers.com.

Brian Carriveau is the editor at Cheesehead TV. To contact Brian, email [email protected].

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Comments (2)

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FITZCORE1252's EVO's picture

August 15, 2012 at 03:11 pm

With Thompson's behavior this offseason I can't help but wonder if he's planning on hanging them up soon. Just something that's crossed my mind.

GBP 4 LIFE

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markinmadison's picture

August 15, 2012 at 06:46 pm

I think it is more of a reflection of differing strategies at different stages of the prime players' careers (#12). New England went through a similar evolution. Hard to argue with the results over the last decade overall.

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