Walkthrough: Reaction to James Jones' return
Each Wednesday, Weston Hodkiewicz provides an inside look at the Packers in his Walkthrough blog post.
Fans of the Green Bay Packers weren’t the only ones excited about the return of James Jones.
A number of his current and former teammates took to social media to congratulate the ninth-year receiver this past weekend after he re-signed with the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft.
Cornerback Sam Shields
Inside linebacker Sam Barrington
Defensive lineman Datone Jones
Receiver Donald Driver
Jones, 31, spent his first seven seasons with the Packers before signing with Oakland a year ago. Now back in Green Bay, Jones even will be sporting his same No. 89 jersey after second-year tight end Richard Rodgers agreed to switch to No. 82.
Jones was listed as the backup to second-year receiver Davante Adams on the team’s first depth chart, which was released Tuesday afternoon.
A few thoughts:
» The Packers released a video this week highlighting the players who made their 53-man roster. Thirty-five players chose to smile and 18 opted against. Defensive lineman Mike Daniels was downright scary.
» In one of the less-publicized competitions of training camp, offensive lineman Don Barclay held off tight end Justin Perillo for the privilege of backing up long-snapper Brett Goode, who has played in 112 consecutive games since winning the job in 2008. Hey, the more you can do.
Related: Get your fantasy sleepers in The Huddle.
» If you haven’t checked it out yet, right guard T.J. Lang has partnered with Rams defensive end Chris Lang to bring clean water to suffering communities in Tanzania and East Africa through Waterboys, the cornerstone initiative of Lang’s foundation.
The launch began two weeks ago and encourages fans to take photos of “What they drink in support of clean water” and sharing via social media using the #Drink4Water hashtag. Each team is looking to raise $45,000 by the conclusion of the 2015 season, which is the minimum cost to build one sustainable, solar-powered, deep borehole water well.
The combined effort will help provide clean water to more than 160,000 people in suffering communities. For more information and to track Lang’s progress, go to www.waterboys.org.
New Bears but same old Jay Cutler
» It’s Packers vs. Bears week again, that special time twice a year when media on both sides of the Wisconsin-Illinois border get to dig up and rehash Jay Cutler’s putrid career marks against the Packers.
For those scoring at home, the Bears quarterback is 1-10 lifetime against Green Bay with a 67.1 passer rating (151-of-352 passing for 2,456 yards, 14 touchdowns and 21 interceptions). In need of a refresher? Here’s a video from NFL.com reliving Cutler's four-interception performance against the Packers from 2012.