Mike McCarthy excuses 15 vets from Green Bay Packers minicamp

GREEN BAY -- To the disappointment of some Green Bay Packers fans who traveled a long distance to come to minicamp this week, many of their favorite players aren't participating.

The likes of quarterback Aaron Rodgers and linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers were conspicuously absent when Green Bay's three-day minicamp opened Tuesday. Jordy Nelson, who had been relegated to individual drills in his comeback from missing last season with a torn ACL, also was a prominent no-show, along with fellow receiver Randall Cobb.

Those players were among 15 veterans whom head coach Mike McCarthy excused for the entire minicamp, which is mandatory for all players.

"The approach is different than it's been in the past," McCarthy said.

He explained the institution of the vet-select group for minicamp is similar to an approach he's taken since early in his 11-year tenure with the team by giving its more established players practice time off at different junctures of training camp.

The chosen 15 were allowed to get an early start on their break between the offseason program and training camp after all players went through physical exams Monday.

McCarthy said the Packers' longer training camp this year was a big factor in his decision to keep a slew of starters out of the minicamp, which is essentially a review of the installations made in the recent organized team activities.

Green Bay must play five preseason games this summer instead of the usual four. The Packers get the NFL's exhibition schedule started when they meet the Indianapolis Colts in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 7.

The team hasn't released its camp schedule. However, with teams allowed to start practicing 15 days before their first preseason game, the Packers figure to open camp the weekend of July 23-24.

"We have an extra week of work," McCarthy said. "So, really, if you look at the veterans' workload as far as the nine-week offseason program, training camp, everything leading up to the beginning of this season, they're excused from three practices (this week), but they'll have four or five practices that first week (of camp). So, they'll actually still have the same amount of work or a little more than they would in a normal training camp."

Keeping a large number of older players away from minicamp also allows McCarthy and his staff more interaction with and coaching of the younger players, who are expected to play a lot in the preseason games.

"This gives us (more) practices to get those young players ready to play in that (first preseason) game," McCarthy said. "That's really the baseline of the decision, and I thought it definitely was a win-win for everybody."

The start of minicamp marked the return of defensive tackle Kenny Clark, Green Bay's first-round draft pick this year, to the team. Clark wasn't allowed to participate in the OTAs because the academic year at his college, UCLA, still was in session in the late spring.