Five players, three roster spots for Packers running backs
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The most competitive position battle for the Packers is at running back, where five big names could be competing for three roster spots.
A couple of the biggest off-season moves for the Packers were selecting two running backs in the first four rounds in April’s draft. But there is a stable of incumbent runners that currently sit ahead of them on the training camp depth chart.
Usually taking reps with the first team offense is the oft-injured James Starks, who of course was a major contributor on the team’s 2010 Super Bowl run.
“I know what I’m capable of,” Starks said. “I know what I can do. And things happen, things happen for a reason and only God knows those reasons so my expectations are still high, I’m still focused. I’ve got to go and make sure this year that I’m healthy and that I show everybody what I can do.”
“The running part of it, you have to make good decisions and that’s something that we all need to work on, James included,” said Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy.
Alex Green returns as the team’s leading rusher from 2012. He says he’s finally feeling close to 100 percent after reconstructive knee surgery in 2011.
“It doesn’t feel exactly the same as it did before the injury, just naturally because I had the surgery. But it does feel great, I’m not even concerned about it,” Green said. “I’m moving past that and just working on getting better as a football player.
“I think the biggest thing with Alex is confidence with his knee and I think you’re seeing that more this year than you did last year,” said McCarthy. “He looks like he’s back running with the confidence he did as a rookie.”
There is also DuJuan Harris, who closed out last season as the team’s starter. Harris, however, is sidelined for the next two to three weeks with a knee injury.
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