Jordy Nelson Injury: Green Bay Packers WR Provides Rehab Update
Jordy Nelson missed the entire 2015 NFL season due to a torn ACL that he suffered during preseason action. The Green Bay Packers’ offense looked lost and confused without him and are extremely excited to have him back in 2016. He has been making great progress in his rehab process and is getting closer to returning to the field.
During a recent interview with ESPN.com, Nelson provided an update and made it clear that he is on track in his recovery.
“Things are great. Everything has gone smooth. Everyone keeps asking if I’m 100 percent. I’m 100 percent of what the doctor will let me do. The rest is unknown, but we’re right where we want to be and will continue to progress once we get back to Green Bay in a week and a half. But we’ve done some agility stuff and running, and everything has been fine.”
Those comments from Nelson should be very exciting for the Packers and their fans. Getting him back on the field will be one of the biggest offseason pickups for any team. Assuming he is back to 100 percent and has his confidence again, Nelson will be the difference maker that Green Bay needed last year.
Back in the 2014 season with the Packers, Nelson showed what he is capable of when he plays a full season completely healthy. He caught 98 passes for 1,519 yards and 13 touchdowns. Those numbers were a big part of the Packers being one of the most dynamic offenses in the entire league and Aaron Rodgers winning an MVP award.
At 30-years-old, Nelson’s body has been bouncing back quickly, and he should be ready for the start of the season.
Mike McCarthy will be able to breathe a sigh of relief when he sees Nelson healthy again. He will no longer have nightmares about figuring ways to scrape together an aerial attack. No one thought that would have been the case, but it was obvious just how important Nelson was to their entire offense.
Randall Cobb didn’t live up to the hype of being a No. 1 wide receiver. He simply wasn’t able to get open with the added pressure from opposing defenses. Davante Adams was an absolute bust in his second NFL season, and the rest of the wide receiving corps was unable to step up as needed.
Last season ended in disappointing fashion once again for the Packers, losing to the Arizona Cardinals in overtime of their NFC divisional playoff matchup.
Even without Nelson, the Packers were able to finish the season with a 10-6 record. They lost the NFC North division title to the Minnesota Vikings when they lost 20-13 in Week 17. Green Bay will be looking to get back on top this season, and Nelson’s return will be bigger than anything else the Packers could do this offseason.
Green Bay is without question one of the top teams in the NFC looking ahead to the 2016 season. There are other teams around them that have gotten better this offseason, but Ted Thompson has not allowed that to make him change his ways. Once again, the Packers have been quiet in free agency and are not panicking when other NFC teams bring in big names.
Once the Packers’ fan base see Nelson back in the lineup, they will be a bit more comfortable with the offseason that their team had.
Hopefully, Nelson’s progress continues the way it has been so far this offseason. If he continues at the current pace, he should be good to go when training camp arrives. That is exactly what the Packers need to get their offense back on track heading into 2016.
Do you think that Jordy Nelson will come back and dominate for the Green Bay Packers in 2016? Will the torn ACL take a toll on Nelson, or will he be the same when he returns?
[Photo by Julio Cortez/AP]
