Training camp roundup: Could Bulaga play through a torn ACL?

Receiver Riley Cooper returned to Eagles practice Tuesday. It was only four days after he left the team to seek counseling.

By Josh Katzowitz

Aug 6, 2013 at 1:05 pm ET • 4 min read

The Packers continue to get hit by injuries, and at least one player is reportedly trying to decide if he can play with only one intact ACL.

That, of course, would be left tackle Bryan Bulaga, who injured himself during a scrimmage last Saturday.

But the team hasn't placed him on IR yet and it's trying to figure out the next step.

“We’re still waiting on a medical opinion," coach Mike McCarthy said after practice Tuesday. "Bryan is still hopeful of giving it a go. Nothing has been finalized. He doesn’t even look like he’s injured.”

You could point to Patriots guard Logan Mankins, who played with a torn ACL a few years back, and say that it's possible to do so. But remember, Bulaga's tackle position requires much more mobility than that of an offensive guard. Bulaga would have to run plenty on the field.

“We always do what’s in the best interest of the player. Bryan is fully aware of what it would take to play this season,” McCarthy said.

Bulaga didn’t practice Tuesday, and though we thought Marshall Newhouse would move to left tackle in Bulaga’s place, leaving David Bakhtiari at the right tackle spot, the Packers actually made the opposite move, putting Bakhtiari at left tackle and Newhouse at right tackle.

In other Packers injury news, Packers receiver Randall Cobb left practice with an arm injury. He returned to run sprints at the end of practice, but it wouldn’t be a shock if we don’t see Cobb for a few days.

Meanwhile, we definitely won't be seeing receiver Jordy Nelson anytime soon. He'll miss the rest of the preseason after undergoing knee surgery. The team is hopeful Nelson can return for the season-opener.

Injury Bug

For the third-straight day, running back Danny Woodhead sat out of Chargers practice with an injury. It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll play in Thursday’s preseason game vs. the Seahawks. Also, receiver Denario Alexander hurt his knee in a collision Thursday, and he watched the rest of the practice from the sideline.

On Monday, Jaguars receiver Cecil Shorts tweaked his left calf. He said he hopes to return to practice by the end of the week.

Falcons right tackle Mike Johnson had to leave practice after suffering a bad leg injury. He left the team facility in an ambulance. On Tuesday night, Falcons coach Mike Smith said Johnson had suffered a dislocated left ankle and a fibula fracture.

Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall said he dislocated his ring finger trying to block a Logan Paulsen punch during an intrasquad fight. "Nothing personal, though," Hall said.

Honey Badger is the bee’s knees

Somewhat-surprising news from Arizona: Tyrann Mathieu is having an outstanding training camp, thus far. That’s according to general manager Steve Keim.

"The thing that I didn't know for sure when we drafted him is what his commitment to the game is like in terms of preparation," Keim said. "He's a gym rat. He was one of the rookies that was first in the weight room every morning."

As Arizonasports.com points out, Mathieu has learned three positions for three different personnel packages.

And one more thing from that scouting report:

One scout told me that Tyrann Mathieu was, "pound-for-pound, the best player on the field." And while conversing with an offensive assistant coach he told me that he believed, "No. 32 was going to change the team."

Sanchez over Smith

That’s true for now, at least, because the Jets said Tuesday that Mark Sanchez would start the first preseason game instead of second-round pick Geno Smith.

"It's been an even competition," coach Rex Ryan said. "We've got rotating days and things like that. Certainly [Mark's] the incumbent. We'll see how it goes from here. It seemed like the natural thing to do."

Not the most ringing of endorsements there. But hey, at least Sanchez had a better practice than Smith on Tuesday.

QB stats today: Sanchez 4-for-6, no sacks; Smith 2-for-5, 1 INT, no sacks. Not counting Hail Mary drill for either QB. #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) August 6, 2013

Two is better than four

For now, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians isn’t sure if he’ll employ two or three quarterbacks heading into the season, but Ryan Lindley might be in some trouble. As of now, he’s No. 3 on the depth chart behind Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton.

Said Arians, via the Arizona Republic: “If it comes down to Ryan and another guy at another position, we’ll determine what’s more valuable to our football team at that time.”

And just for a reminder, here’s what the Cardinals quarterbacks accomplished in 2012.

No.		G	GS	QBrec	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Rate	Sk	Yds
19	John Skelton	7	6	1-5-0	109	201	54.2	1132	2	9	55.4	15	98
4	Kevin Kolb	6	5	3-2-0	109	183	59.6	1169	8	3	86.1	27	159
14	Ryan Lindley	7	4	1-3-0	89	171	52.0	752	0	7	46.7	12	91
6	Brian Hoyer	2	1	0-1-0	30	53	56.6	330	1	2	65.8	4	30
	Team Total	16		5-11-0	337	608	55.4	3383	11	21	63.1	58	378
	Opp Total	16			270	497	54.3	3441	20	22	71.2	38	228

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/6/2013.

Down for the count

Before their dual practice Tuesday, Kelly and Patriots coach Bill Belichick agreed that if any of their players fought with their opponents, the coaches would bench those players for the rest of the day.

After Patriots receiver Aaron Dobson and Eagles cornerback Cary Williams got into a tussle, neither returned for the rest for the practice.

You buying this?

Because I’m certainly not.