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The most compelling action in the final week of the preseason may come from watching the Green Bay Packers' scout team. Several notable players are expected to be held out of the last exhibition game, Thursday night at the Kansas City Chiefs (8 p.m.), so the team reps in practice Monday and Tuesday should reflect that.
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"With the fourth preseason game, we'll probably be running the show-team cards and stuff," wide receiver Jordy Nelson said Sunday.
Nelson and quarterback Aaron Rodgers figure to get a lot more work together on the practice field, even if they'll be in the unusual role of prepping the backups on defense for extended playing time against the Chiefs.
After Rodgers helped the Packers to a 21-10 win at the San Francisco 49ers on Friday night by directing a touchdown drive in his first two series of preseason action, the two-time league MVP doesn't expect to play another down until the season starts on Sept. 11.
That Week 1 road contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars is when Nelson anticipates he will make his long-awaited 2016 debut in a game.
Nelson replied, "Probably not," when asked Sunday about his playing status Thursday.
The team's top wideout is ready to graduate to team drills in practice this week after being limited to individual work last week in his return to the field. Nelson missed the entire 2015 season because of a torn ACL in his right knee he sustained in a preseason game, then he needed the first three weeks of training camp this summer to recover from an injury to his left knee.
"I wouldn't say happy," Nelson said about the likelihood of not playing one snap in the preseason. (But) it's the situation we were put in. I think if everything would've gone smooth coming into camp we would've been in a different situation. But, it's the situation we're in, and I think we've handled it well. We're where we need to be.
"We have two weeks of what most likely, for me, will be normal practices going into Jacksonville, and I think we'll be ready to go."
That's Mike McCarthy's hope as well, though the head coach hasn't publicly ruled out Nelson from playing Thursday. Just as no declarations have been made that the likes of Rodgers, running back Eddie Lacy, receiver Randall Cobb and linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers will be prominent sideline observers from start to finish at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium.
"It's important for Jordy to get a ton of work this week with Aaron, and that's really the focus," McCarthy said Sunday. "I feel very good about where (Nelson) is. It's just reps and just the coordination with the concepts and the types of things that we're preparing to do. I think Jordy looks great."
And, Nelson is A-OK with getting the necessary work on the receiving end of Rodgers' throws in a would-be diminished role as a second-stringer in practice this week.
"At the end of the day, it's running routes, catching balls and going against defenders," Nelson said.
NOTES: RB Eddie Lacy also was limited to Green Bay's first two possessions in the win at San Francisco on Friday. The lead back had seven carries for 45 yards. Despite playing only four series in the first three preseason games, Lacy ranks 10th in the league with 114 yards in 20 carries. Lacy could be among a group of several veteran players who are held out of the final preseason game Thursday at Kansas City. ... SS Morgan Burnett hasn't played in the preseason because of a lingering back injury. McCarthy said Sunday that the team's medical staff feels the veteran starter is making progress. "I don't think there's any long-term concern," McCarthy said. Micah Hyde has started the first three preseason games in Burnett's absence.
