Hundley looking to make up for lost time
GREEN BAY - It was supposed to be the summer of Brett Hundley.
The Green Bay Packers backup quarterback was going to be the sweatiest guy in the Fox Valley with the number of practice reps and game snaps he was scheduled to receive in 20 training camp practices and five exhibition games.
But in his sixth practice of camp, Hundley stepped awkwardly while trying to throw a pass and rolled his ankle. He finally made his return to the practice field Sunday afternoon for his seventh, some 13 days after he first suffered the injury.
"Yeah, it sucked," Hundley said after practice, summing up his hiatus. "To say the least. You just have got to figure out ways to keep your mind in the game and just keep learning.
"Obviously looking from a different type of view, not being able to practice, is not the greatest, but you’ve just got to keep your mind and figure out different ways to study and get mental reps."
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Hundley was hurt at the end of a play-action pass in which his feet appeared to get tangled with some offensive linemen. But he said it was at the end of the play when he was setting up to throw a screen that the injury occurred.
He continued practicing, but after an off day on Tuesday, the medical staff shut him down.
"Just kind of rolling out to the left, and tried to throw back on a screen and my foot just did not come out of the ground," Hundley said. "I mean, you know, any injury, you’re always thinking, ‘It could have been this, it could have been that.'
"But luckily it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. So I’m back practicing now."
Hundley didn't appear to be favoring the ankle and seemed to be the same quarterback he was when he suffered the injury. His best play of the day came when he drew the defense offsides and then heaved a perfect deep ball to wide receiver Jared Abbrederis, who caught the ball with his outstretched hands running at full speed.
"That's a testament to him, staying in the books, staying involved, that's something that tells you how he handles himself," Abbrederis said. "He got a free play (on their connection) and that's a big part of our offense. It's nice to have him out there. We have a great quarterback in No. 12 (Aaron Rodgers), but it's good to have him back."
Hundley would have played extensively in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, but since it was canceled it's not like he missed out on anything. Rodgers didn't play at all against Cleveland, so the injury robbed him of some valuable playing time Friday night.
On Sunday, Rodgers was doing a lot of work with the scout team, which is a sign he might not play at all against Oakland Thursday night, in which case Hundley would start. But first Hundley needs to be cleared to play and he won't know that for sure until it's closer to game day.
"You know, we’re taking it day by day and we’ll see come game day," he said. "But that’s our plan right now, just take it day-by-day and go from there. I felt good; mentally, I felt pretty sharp."