Packers notes: Morgan Burnett, Lane Taylor back at practice
GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers are not obligated to release an injury report until Thursday because they are playing the Detroit Lions on Monday night. But the defense remains wounded.
Safety Kentrell Brice (ankle), inside linebacker Joe Thomas (ankle), outside linebacker Nick Perry (unknown), defensive tackle Quinton Dial (chest) and outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks (back) did not practice Tuesday.
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The Packers did receive a boost from two players returning to the field for the first time since sustaining their injuries. Safety Morgan Burnett (hamstring) and left guard Lane Taylor (ankle) were at practice and appeared to take a normal amount of reps.
Self-scouting: Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff kept grinding through the Packers' bye week, waiting until this past weekend to relent from work.
Much of their self-scouting included “across-the-hall” meetings with offensive and defensive coaches providing evaluations on other parts of the team. It’s a process McCarthy and staff have followed for years with the Packers.
McCarthy said the introspection provided “no surprises” near the season’s midway point, but rather more detailed analysis from a fresh perspective.
“You can have an offensive line coach,” McCarthy said, “sit down with the outside linebackers and defensive ends and talk from an offensive tackle’s perspective, and take the time and give him his evaluation of Clay Matthews or Nick Perry, and vice versa. Or with (cornerbacks coach) Joe Whitt in the quarterback room, looking at the receivers and quarterbacks from the defensive back’s perspective. So really there’s no new surprises, but just having the opportunity to break it down and talk about techniques and fundamentals.
“It’s things that you’re able to have time in the training camp environment, but we felt it’s beneficial to do coming off the bye week.”
Players were given the week off, free to leave Green Bay. They returned Monday and practiced Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, McCarthy said the team started installing its game plan for Monday night’s return to the field against the Lions.
Lions reunion: Veteran guard Don Barclay, released by the Packers last week after spending the season on injured reserve, signed Tuesday with the Lions. He rejoins former Packers offensive-line teammate T.J. Lang, who left Green Bay during the offseason and signed a free-agent deal with Detroit.
Barclay played in 62 regular-season games with 24 starts for the Packers after signing out of West Virginia as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He missed the 2014 season with a torn ACL.