-- When the Green Bay Packers lost veteran safety Morgan Burnett in free agency this offseason, other players remaining on the roster at his position knew they may need to shoulder a bit more responsibility than normal.

That includes Kentrell Brice, who was already a vital component to the Packers' secondary under defensive coordinator Dom Capers during his first two seasons in the league.

Brice, an undrafted free agent in 2016, has seen a significant rise in playing time since making the team's 53-man opening day roster his rookie year, proceeding to play in all 16 regular-season games. He was one of six safeties to make the final 53-man roster.

His 2017 season, however, was cut short due to an ankle injury that ultimately landed him on injured reserve.

"Everybody told me to be patient," Brice said, according to Ryan Wood of PackersNews.com. "But I'm a headstrong person. So I try to attack it head-on. Sometimes, I'm my own worst enemy. So I had to force myself to be patient sometimes when they told me to. So that was a hard time for me because I like to go full go with everything I do."

Brice had three starts under his belt last season -- three times as many as he did in 2016 -- in the six games he was active for. He also had three times as many defended passes, his first career interception and the same amount of tackles (17) in 10 fewer games. 

Brice is also the early candidate for the starting safety position opposite Ha Ha Clinton-Dix with Burnett now under contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Josh Jones, last year's No. 61 overall pick, will likely remain in the box as a hybrid linebacker where he excelled in his rookie year.

"I'm coming back, and I'm fighting as hard as I can. I feel like I'm playing better than ever, honestly. Here and there, you might feel an ankle tweak or something like that, but it comes along with it when I'm only seven months after surgery. So I'm ahead of my time schedule. I'm able to practice, I'm able to play. So I feel pretty good about it."

The Packers also hired a new coordinator in Mike Pettine, who Brice has already expressed his glee for, as have many other of the defensive players.

Under Pettine, the Packers' defensive backs can operate around being versatile and being deployed in various positions. Pettine's "likable and learnable" philosophy, despite a complex scheme, is expected to feature a variety of different looks.

"I'm extremely excited," Brice told Zachary Jacobson of CheeseheadTV.com last month. "I've seen things that he's done before with the Jets' defense, with the Cleveland Browns' defense. I've seen things he's done watching on film every day, from the schematic things they've done. They create a lot of turnovers, they play very well."

This is just another day at the office for Brice, who played under four different coordinators during his four years playing at Louisiana Tech. Playing for Capers for two seasons was the first time he had played for the same coordinator for more than a single year since 2012.

"It's very exciting to be able to come into something new -- to buy into it -- and to try and elevate your game more and more."