Vince Biegel ruled out this week, still could return before preseason ends

GREEN BAY – Vince Biegel won’t practice or play this week, but there’s still hope the Green Bay Packers rookie outside linebacker will return before the preseason concludes.

Biegel, a fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin, has not practiced since breaking a bone in his foot the second day of the Packers' rookie orientation in early May. Coach Mike McCarthy said Tuesday that Biegel won’t return to practice this week, and as an extension won’t play in Saturday’s third exhibition game at Denver.

With the Packers' preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams looming next week, time is drawing short for Biegel to return by the regular-season opener Sept. 10 against the Seattle Seahawks. Multiple sources told PackersNews.com he might return soon, perhaps as early as next week.

“Every player is different,” McCarthy said, “but most importantly, every injury is different. So I just think the fact that the history of the injury, the reoccurrence, there’s probably a threshold or two more that the medical staff, they want to really make sure he’s clear of. Because a setback is always something that you want to avoid, and we haven’t had any setbacks.

“It’s just a matter of where he is in the progress of rehab. Yes, I’m not really thinking about Week 1. It’s just, you’ve got to get the guys that are not healthy, healthy. And create opportunities for the guys who are healthy, and we’ll sort everything out after the Rams game.”

McCarthy also said second-year defensive lineman Dean Lowry’s knee injury is “not a long-term concern,” but that he would not practice Tuesday.